Vang Vieng, A Laid Back Riverside Town of Laos

Date Visited: 28th July 2013

Vang Vieng is a small tourist-oriented town in Laos which is about four hours bus ride north of the Vientiane city. It is a riverside town in Central Laos offering stunning scenery of river and rock formations. After staying for a night in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, we packed our bag and moved on to Vang Vieng.

Travel To Vang Vieng From Vientiane

For budget traveller like us, we prefer to take the cheapest option such as taking buses. Tickets for tourist buses and minivans can be purchased at almost every guesthouse, hostels and hotels and this include pick-up services from your lodge to the bus station. But I personally would recommend to buy directly from local tour company along Rue Setthathirat or Rue Samsenthai as it would be slightly cheaper than buying from your lodge. 

#1: Price list for buses/minivans from Vientiane

Minivans with air conditioning leave Vientiane all day and it cost about 35,000 kip (approx. to US$5 or RM16) for four hours journey. A minivan which I think can fit up to 10 people at least might be slightly uncomfortable for those who is tall with long leg as the seat is kinda cramped and wondering where they placed our baggage, it's on the top of the minivans by the way. The road from Vientiane to Vang Vieng is fairly in good condition with few bumps and there is one stop for the passengers for toilet break and grab quick bites. 

#2: Minivans 

Reach Vang Vieng and Accommodation

#3: Welcome to Vang Vieng 

The minivans stop at Northern Vang Vieng Bus Terminal which is 2km away from the city centre. Upon reaching, all the passengers including us were approached by tuk-tuk which can take us to the town for 10,000 kip each (approx. to US$1.50 or RM5) but both Jeff and I decided to walk instead. Vang Vieng is an average small town that everything is easily reachable by foot. From there, we searched for accommodation as we didn't book in advanced. Luckily it was low season in July and majority of the guest houses allowed us to have a look at their rooms before we agreed to book and stay. 

 

#4: There were 120 guesthouses in Vang Vieng Town!

#5: The double room we booked cost 60,000 kip per night (approx. to US$8 or RM27) without air-conditioning

Things To Do & See in Vang Vieng

Generally, Vang Vieng is well known for wealth of outdoor-oriented activities such as kayaking, rock climbing, trekking, caving, mountain biking, zipline and more but the most popular would be river tubing on the Nam Song River, an activity that long-dominated the town and its visitors. Initially, Jeff and I decided to try do the tubing but unfortunately it's been raining cats and dogs all day long when we were in Vang Vieng and for safety purposes, we have to forgone about this activity. 

#6: Some tourists still proceed with the tubing activity despite the heavy rain

#7: Kayaking the river 

 

#8: Or like what we did during the raining day - Watching US popular TV series Friends in most restaurants and cafes

Eating in Vang Vieng

As this small little town is getting more popular among tourists, there are numerous of restaurants, cafe and bars can be found in the town center. Most of these eateries offering a selection of local Lao and Thai cuisines as well as American and Italian dishes such as pizza, burger and so on.

 

#9: Enjoy our meal which watching Friends 

#10: For quick eats and late night snacks, numerous pancake and sandwich stalls lined up the streets. 

Although Vang Vieng seems to be a small and quiet little town but I don't regret for coming here as I was truly enjoy its peaceful and serene atmosphere. The town itself is so laid back with pretty simple and easy lifestyle - no worry, no stress, no tension. How I wish I could have this kind of life every single day? However, it's just a short stay in Vang Vieng cause on the next day, we proceeded to another town by the name of "Phonsavan".

#11: Nam Song river