The sad reality about Vang Vieng

I arrived in Vang Vieng leaving some of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, Luang Prabang and Nong Khiew.

These places had some of the most picturesque scenery I had ever witnessed and both of the towns were uniquely Laotian in their own regard, Vang Vieng was the complete opposite and it continues to disappoint me despite how beautiful the area is

Vang Vieng lies among vast limestone mountains and lush rice fields that are truly amazing, it makes sense to me why so many people decide to travel here.

This area is an adventure-lovers paradise with kayaking, caving, climbing, hiking, and most notoriously, tipsy tubing all at your disposal, you can see why this place draws tourists in.

View from the caves

During my stay, I did the Blue Lagoons and some local caves which I had to myself and I also really enjoyed just biking outside of the town because, In my opinion, this is the best part of Vang Vieng

The road to the Lagoons across the wooden bridge on the Nam Son was quite fun for a ride, I explored many caves and was often the only one there

This place truly possesses some amazing beauty, rivaling the mountains in the North. Blue Lagoon 1 was kind of a flop for me, the water was nice and the color was great.

The city was full of Korean and Chinese tour groups but there was still some space to swim and go rope swinging, there is also a great cave on site, but it’s quite the hike!!

The bridge to the Second and Third lagoons were closed so I cannot comment on that.

Unfortunately, I became very ill during my stay here , which naturally, limited me from doing physical activities that this area is so famous for.

Given this time to rest, I spent time in town observing and I did not like what I saw, the town is charmless, it is a collection of foreign-owned bars, restaurants, construction sites, and the endless tour company or motorbike rental shops

The town also doesn’t feel very Laotian, every shop and restaurant has a Mandarin or Korean sign, and you can see why, Chinese and Korean tour groups make up most of this city’s tourism nowadays.

Of course there still are the shirtless, drunk, Western tourists who are a problem in their own right, but this town has lost whatever charm it may have had many years ago and now it just feels like over-tourism has completely killed it.

The locals here seem jaded and frankly unhappy and I honestly do not blame them, this place has seen lots of deaths and darkness from drunk tourists partaking in tipsy tubing.

This acitivty involded renting old tires, driving a few kilometers up the Nam Song river, and going down with multiple stops along the way.

Riverside bars offering cheap “Lao Lao” buckets and risky activities such as rope swings, ziplines, and mud wrestling, this concluded in over 37 tourists dying, 2011 being the most deadly year.

ventually the Laos government cracked down with pressure from international governments.

Now, Vang Vieng has taken a more family-friendly approach with the promotion of eco-tourism activities like climbing, buggy riding, hiking, and less risky tubing, but in my opinion, the damage has already been done.

It seems that over-tourism has completely ruined any charm of this once picturesque village that made its livelihood from rice farming or fishing, which was suddenly uprooted by the tourism business.

Numerous hotels, bars, restaurants, and tour companies occupy most of the buildings, leaving little place for cultural sights or anything attractive.

Remnants of its hedonistic past continue to be present here.

Western owned bars will still offer weed or mushroom-infused pizzas, helium balloons, and even Yaba or meth in a pill form, and you will see young western tourists walking on the streets often shirtless and drunk with little regard for this country’s conservative, Buddhist culture

Vang Vieng will always have its beauty and natural wonders that make it such a popular destination, riding my bike through the surrounding villages was truly a beautiful experience, and outside of the city feels like a completely different world.

I think Vang Vieng is still worth a visit, the blue lagoons, the sprawling mountains, and the caves are truly out of this world, my recommendation to you is to stay somewhere outside of the city and closer to the nature before it is too late.