Vang Vieng

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Official name	Vang Vieng
Native name	lang-lo|ວັງວຽງ
Settlement type
Country	Laos PDR - People's Democratic Republic
Dot x	|dot_y =
Pushpin map	Laos
Pushpin label position	bottom
Pushpin map caption	Location in Laos
Pushpin mapsize	300
Coordinates region	LA
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Admin. division
Subdivision name1	Vientiane Province
Leader title	Mayor
Leader title1
Established title
Established title2
Established title3
Unit pref	Imperial
Area total km2
Area land km2
Population total	25,000
Population blank1 title	Ethnicities
Population blank2 title	Religions
Population blank2	Buddhism
Elevation footnotes
Postal code type

Vang Vieng () is a tourism-oriented town in Laos, located in Vientiane Province about four hours bus ride north of the capital. The town lies on the Nam Song river. The most notable feature of the area is the karst hill landscape surrounding the town.

History

One of the main features of the town is a long, mostly unused, airfield runway parallel to the road. It was used during the Vietnam War by the Air America's planes (the airstrip was then called "Lima site 6"). The town has grown substantially due to the influx of backpackers in recent years, with the opportunities for adventure tourism in an incredible landscape has attracted more-and-more tourists.

Tourism

Today, Vang Vieng today is mainly a backpacker town. The main street is full of guest houses, bars, restaurants, internet cafes, tour agencies, and western tourists Attractions of the town include inner tubing and kayaking on the Nam Song River, which is lined with bars selling Beer Lao and Lao-Lao, and equipped with rope swings, zip lines, and large decks for socializing. During the wet season, the river can be a series of rapids.

Other activities include trekking and rock climbing in the limestone mountains. There are also numerous caves, such as Tham Phu Kham cave half an hour from Vang Vieng by tuk-tuk or the Tham Jang cave closer to Vang Vieng. A market located five kilometres north of the town sells Lao textiles, household items and foodstuffs. The town is situated on the main north-south highway, Route 13 from Luang Prabang to the capital, Vientiane. It is about eight hours by bus to Luang Prabang and four hours to Vientiane (152 km).

Just a short walk from town are many ethnic Lao, Kmou, and Hmong villages, while Vang Vieng Organic Farm is located around 4 km north of the town in the village of Phoudindaeng. There are also opportunities for community involvement such as teaching, while it's also possible to stay in a house made of mud bricks at the organic farm.

Effects of tourism

There have been worries that the town is in danger of losing its charm as it becomes full of tourists, mushroom shakes and Friends - the US sitcom is shown in many bars, while some have compared it to the touristy Thai resort Phuket. The New Zealand Herald wrote, "If teenagers ruled the world, it might resemble Vang Vieng". Safety measures for the tubing have been described as "non existent" and a mixture of this and heavy drinking has seen tourists drown.

The Laos government is planning to put more controls on the urban sprawl of Vang Vieng, while the Laos National Tourism Administration has "awareness programs" that ask tourists to "respect and strictly follow the rules, regulations, tradition and cultures of the Lao people," while also educating local people to maintain the Lao identity, way of life, tradition and culture and not imitate tourist behaviour. Vang Vieng is known to have a problem with drugs, which are easily accessible to both tourists and local children. The town has been described as "The finest example of how to let a town be spoiled by tourism."

Brett Dakin, the author of Another Quiet American, a chronicle of two years in Laos working for the tourist authority, said, "Each time a young Australian woman strolls down the street in a bikini, a bearded American smokes a joint on a guesthouse terrace, or a group of Koreans tumbles drunkenly out of a restaurant, it saps a little more of the essence of a town like Vang Vieng.".

See also

Banana Pancake Trail

References

External links

Laos Tourism Board

Vang Vieng Travel Guide

Ultimate Vang Vieng Travel Guide

Tubing Vang Vieng Guide

Category:Populated places in Vientiane Province