Vang Vieng - Laos Pictures

Click on the following link for pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/VangViengLaos

In Vang Vieng I have been doing the tourist thing. I was floating down the river in a large inner tube going from bar to bar and zip line and rope swing to the next. It was fun but I only managed two rope swings and did a face plant on the second one and that was the end of swinging for me. (No booze was not involved, I was not drinking.) It hurt, my jaw, teeth the back of my head and chest. I thought at first I must have broke my jaw with the impact but, then I came around. I am not as stiff today as I thought I would be. Bruises from hitting the water though.

Some people were doing the swings 20 times in a row. Some of the impacts were like mine, it must have been their beer lao (the brand of beer here) that was numbing their pain. There were some really drunk people and water and booze shouldn't mix. We started at 11am and finished at 6:30 pm, just one trip down the river with 5 stops out of a potential 25. When we got back there were only 20 out of 170 tubers back. If you were after 6pm you had to pay a $2 over time fee. We were aware of the time, unlike others and did not have to pay. Some people were still getting in after 8pm. You see the tuk, tuks come loaded with people and tubes, singing their way through the town, bringing their tubes back.

Along the river side are many little bamboo shack bars that pull you in with long bamboo sticks. It is quite the tourist attraction. I did not take my camera but met a girl who said she would pass on some photos in a few weeks. So stay tuned.

Off to watch an episode of Friends.

I am staying with a girl, Sonya from England. Our room is $4 a night, so $2 each. We found a new hotel today on the river with a pool and used their facilities for the day for $2. Got to catch up on writing my journal, reading and got some sun. We were the only ones there for the day, except when one lady who was there for an hour showed up. Hard to believe. Vang Vieng is a tiny, tiny town, with no street lights. The streets are lit though with neon signs advertising guest houses, places to eat and tours.

The places to eat have lounge areas and depending on your choice of t.v. shows you can watch Friends, Simpsons, Family Guy or movies all day and night (unitl 11:30pm) as everything in Laos closes then. They have pillows to lay on and small tables like coffee tables to eat at. A real backpacker town.