Tubing in Vang Vieng
Tubing!!! Vang Vieng is synonymous with Tubing. I would say the vast majority of travellers that pass through Vang Vieng do so to float down the Nam Song river on a old truck tyre inner tube being hauled into riverside bars for drinks, partying and crazy antics. It goes without saying that mixing alcohol with rivers is not a good idea but Tubing in Vang Vieng has become a rite of passage on the Indochina backpacker circuit. I can understand why, it's a helluva lot of fun!
We had heard a few horror stories, not least my own brother injuring himself tubing, and a few scathing opinions on Vang Vieng. However, I for one was not going to miss this. For one report there are a dozen who remember it as the highlight of their travelling (you know who you are peeps ;-)
We arrived in Vang Vieng after a long, winding, bumpy journey from Luang Prabang; fortunately the scenery through mountains was fantastic. I thought it was hot in Luang Prabang but it was definitely a degree or two higher in VV, plus the humidity was off the chart. You know when it's damn hot when Nilgun is complaining about the temperature and sweating!!!
Our first evening was a quiet one, we were saving ourselves for the main event. After each purchasing the obligatory tubing vest top, we set off along with two new friends we had made on the bus journey down to VV. John and Roberta, a lovely couple from Brighton, were just at the start of 12 months of travelling. It was terrible luck that John was still feeling poorly after a bout of food poisoning picked up in Luang Prabang. What a shame; one really wants a settled stomach before being plied with rice whiskey shots!
The tuk-tuks drop the 'tubers' off 4 kilometres upriver, the idea being that you float back to town. During dry season, which we were at the end of, it takes two hours to float back. However, before you even get a toe wet there are a bunch of bars to keep you occupied for quite a while. All bars had sound systems and DJs, some had tarzan swings, zip-lines, or some other contraption to fling punters into the river.
After a few drinks and a go on the zip line we jumped back on the rings and headed down the river. After a while we spotted another bar with a humungous slide. Now this had to be investigated! After checking the water was deep enough I was straight up there like a kid in a playground. Some others girls even convinced Nilgun to have a go!
After the slide we seemed to float down the river for what felt like quite a long time. We came across another bar and with rumbling tummies stopped off in search of a bite to eat. However, after ordering some beers an enquiry with the barman revealed we had another 60 minutes of floating to town, 40 if we paddled! Trouble was the light was fading fast. Fortunately there were some enterprising chaps 20 minutes down river offering tuk-tuk rides back to town.
Tubing was great fun and I'm thoroughly glad we did it and would recommend it to other travellers, just make sure you start early enough.
A Short video of our tubing antics is to come, so watch this space..
