Introduction

In my previous post, I talked about my experience in Luang Prabang where I gave tips on finding the hidden-but-not-really pool in Kuang Si waterfall and my biking experience to Pa Kou caves.

I plan to write about the majority of my activities, experiences and thoughts throughout this trip not just for my future self but for anyone else interested as well.

On day 8 - 10, yea, yea, it’s lazy of me to just summarise so many days. But since Vang Vieng was supposed to be our chill and relax spot so it wasn’t as intense of a trip as the others. Although, I’m hard-pressed to choose between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng as my favourite town in my trip so far.

Intro to Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is a party paradise. The reasons are simple, free booze during happy hours and easy access to almost any drugs you want in “pizza” shops.

I really enjoyed Vang Vieng also because there were a lot of young backpackers looking to party and make friends at night, and also tons of mountains to climb, lagoons to swim in and caves to explore during the day.

Another interesting thing about Vang Vieng, and Laos in general, is that it’s basically a mini-South Korea. There were probably more South Koreans in Vang Vieng than even locals and other travellers. Reason being, Vang Vieng was featured in a popular TV show or documentary a few years back. Really amazes me how one episode like that can transform the whole socialscape of a country.

So, here are some tips for anyone planning to come to Vang Vieng in the future.

Hostels

If you’re looking for a chill hostel, we stayed in Vang Vieng Rock Hostel which had pretty good prices, good location and really friendly service.

If you’re looking for a party hostel, stay in Nana Hostel, it’s only a few months old but popular because it has a pool, good happy hour prices and filled with fresh high school graduates from around the world that don’t know how to control themselves yet if that’s what you’re into.

Bars

In terms of bars, these bars are where you want to go for free drinks.

Sakura Bar: Happy Hour is between 8pm - 9pm and offers the local Laos Whiskey or Vodka. This bar was featured in the Korean TV show, so there’ll be a lot of Koreans there.

Viva Bar: Happy Hour is between 10pm - 11pm and offers beer. This bar is the only bar that stays open after 12am so the party moves here after midnight.

Gary’s Irish Pub: May have gotten the name wrong. I heard they offered free drinks at certain hours but when I checked they asked for some tickets. So, I’m not too sure.

Lagoons

In terms of Lagoons, Blue Lagoon 1 is the most commercialised and its the one most tour packages will send tourists. It’s worth a visit but be sure to avoid peak hours.

I didn’t visit Blue Lagoon 2 and 5, and apparently Blue Lagoon 4 doesn’t exist. But the most fun I had was in Blue Lagoon 3, it’s harder to get to but totally worth it. It has a lot more to do such as ziplining, kayaking, rope swing etc.

Tubing

In terms of Tubing, this pissed me off a bit because I felt cheated. There are apparently 3 companies that offer the river tubing experience that put Vang Vieng on the map in the first place. You’ll recognize the companies based on the tube color they offer.

If you’re looking for a wild, crazy time that made it popular in the first place, look for the companies that have the White/Yellow tubes. They take turns alternating between them.

Our hostel (Vang Vieng Backpackers Hostel), sent us to the company with the Red Tubes, which is the more family-friendly, PG-rated, less-crazy one. I still had a good time, but I feel like I missed out on the real thing. We were surprised there was only 9 of us doing the tubing when we heard from other people we met at the bar had 50-100 people even during this low season.

Recreational Entertainment

On the…recreational medication…that can be found in town. We had inside tips from the bartenders that the best places to get them are Space Bar and Milan Pizza Shop. Places to avoid are Reggae Bar and Kush420. A group of us went to the Milan Pizza Shop to try the shroom shake again but was sorely disappointed. Apparently the quality in Vang Vieng isn’t as good. So, I wouldn’t recommend getting any here as they’re super expensive and have very weak effects.

Key Takeaways

I think I’ll end this post here and talk about my own personal experience in another post as this one is getting a little bit long.

There are 2 types of backpackers, the young, stupid, annoying types that are mostly high school graduates or some of them already in university but refused to grow up. These are the rowdy ones that ruin the experience in a bar by getting into fights, trying to steal free liquor from the bar and seem to have a lot of sexual tension even among themselves as a big group of guys travelling together.

The 2nd type are the older one who worked for a few years, decided to quit their job or have a job that allows them to travel around like me. We’re trying to party hard and have fun but would wakeup with headaches and body aches the next day. I like this group more because you can have mature conversations with them and they have a lot more interesting live stories to tell.
Laos sun is wayyy hotter than Malaysia or any of the other South East Asian countries I’ve been too. And rain lasts a lot longer and more frequent. I’ll want to visit Laos again, but from October to April instead of May to September.
After interviewing bartenders, Scandinavians and Canadians are the best backpackers while the French and British are the worst.