Blog 7: Biggest Party in Laos - Vang Vieng

As expected, Vang Vieng is the biggest party in Laos. There is little to do in this town that does not involved getting absolutely wasted.

We get off the bus in Vang Vieng at about 6pm, it was not a significant time for us then but soon became witching hour where all of the wasted people in town are in the same area at the same town (to take their tubes back). We were greeted in the street buy several people that we have met along the way with drunken hugs like long lost family.

After finding a hotel, we also head out for a few beers to find that about 9pm, the town is pretty empty so we went for food an back to the hotel for movies and cards.

The next day we decide to go tubing. We hire tubes from the tube shop and climb aboard the tuk tuk. There is a big river, not the Mekong but an off shoot, about 3km long with about 20 bars from start to finish. You are supposed to get in and out of the tube at the different bars which should take about 3 hours to reach the end.

We get to the first bar and its one big party, rope swings, drinking games, someone being sick in the river, body paint and much more.... After the first bar, the rest is a little hazy but know that we only made it to the 4th bar in the time we had. Everyone was drinking something called a bucket, which is basically a bucket of spirits and mixer and every bar has free shots all day. There are many joits being passed around and mushroom shakes and pizza for those who want to indulge. Im pretty sure you could get anything you wanted here.

I was so drunk that I couldn't float straight anymore so Simon had to pull me for about a kilometer down the river.. We also decided to write on each other with the body paint. My favorite slogan of the day was I love boys but only on boys and man love rules. I also painted one boy green like the hulk and almost painted permanent marker glasses on someone else until Simon stopped us which was a good idea as we found out the next day that this stuff does not come off easily. Check out the photos for the body paint pics!

We get back to the tube station by 6pm to return the tubes to get the deposit back but the party is still going on the river.

We get some food, another joint is passed around and we are all ready for bed. Scott decides he is still hungry as he ate the pavement on the walk home which quickly sobered everyone up. Lena is shouting call the cranken wagon (ambulance in german), Simon is trying to hold him up and he falls like this 3 or 4 times. He has a huge cut on his nose and grazed knees. I stop some random guy in a truck (where are the tuk tuks when you need them) and get us all a lift back to the hotel. Scott is fine now but everyone keeps asking him if he has been in a fight.

The next few days are pretty much the same routine except we don't actually make it back by 6pm, lose the tubes and the deposits but the party is great. We also lost Lena to the hospital in Vientiane (the capital as she now has a crazily swollen body).

After 4 days in this town, we are all more than ready to move on..