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| Vang Vieng | ||
| province | Vientiane | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | 25.000 () | |
| height | unknown | |
no value for height on Wikidata:  | ||
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
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Vang Vieng(ວັງ ວຽງ) is a town in the province Vientiane in Laos.
background
Vang Vieng is located on the Nam Song River and has become quite popular as a tourist destination in recent years. Originally it was just a small place with a market that was mainly visited as a stopover on the journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. After the place and its romantic and idyllic location were discovered by the backpacking community, it experienced a huge boom. Today it is so swarming with foreign visitors that you can hardly see a local. The place itself has changed accordingly: Guest houses and cheap bars and hash scent everywhere. Vang Vieng is no longer Laos.
getting there
In the street
Arrival is only possible by road, either from Vientiane (160 km) or from direction Luang Prabang (230 km). Regular bus connections in both directions. If you want to make it easy for yourself, book a ticket in Vientiane or Luang Prabang for a minibus organized by a travel agency.
mobility
The place is so small that everything can be easily reached on foot. Bicycles can also be rented
Tourist Attractions
There are really things to see in the place itself not except for the view of the river and the karst mountains across the river. This view, with a cool drink from a restaurant or café terrace, makes a visit to Vang Vieng an unforgettable experience. Towards evening the people who live by the river come to bathe here. The “cultural collision” between them and the foreigners drifting down the stream on tractor hoses (who often go ashore at the same place) is a spectacle in itself.
The caves on the west bank of the Nam Song are impressive, and a visit is a must for every visitor to Vang Vieng. About six caves can be visited. The best thing to do is to ask a local fisherman or someone else who works on the riverbank; In most cases he will be happy to offer himself as a guide for a modest fee.
activities
Drifting down the river with a hose (tubing). The Hit here. You can organize this trip anywhere in town. You are taken in a tuk-tuk to a point a few kilometers upstream where you can go into the water and drift. There are many opportunities to stop for a moment along the way. The "adventure" is not always completely safe. Occasionally fatal accidents happen, for example when the vehicle gets stuck in branches hanging in the water and capsizes.
