Vang Vieng. Party Central.

Oh Vang Vieng. How I miss thee.

Vang Vieng is sick, in a good way. It's like a young backpackers paradise, but sadly, that's all Vang Vieng is. The city has completely succumbed to backpackers; you don't come here for a cultural experience, or to see beautiful temples, you basically come to Vang Vieng to party. And that I did.

The main street in Vang Vieng

Arriving in Vang Vieng, the kiwi and I wandered around looking for the cheapest place to sleep, and some drunk people approached us and told us where to find a bed, I don't know why we listened to them, but I'm glad we did. We got a room on the very top floor of the Babylon Guesthouse with 2 double beds for 50,000 kip! (50,000 kip is roughly $6.) The next night the German and the Korean were going to join us, so it was even less to stay there. We basically had a penthouse on the top floor with a balcony that overlooked the main street. To be honest, it was pretty grungy, but with that price and the space, I couldn't complain.

Our room was on the top floor with a hammock on the balcony

The first night, Kiwi and I wandered around with Beer lao in hand. We were trying to find "Smile Bar" a bar, that a random foreigner walking down the street recommended to us. We ended up getting lost, finding ourselves on a different island, a quieter one, full of bungalows and guesthouses. Finally we find the right island, THE island where everything was happening. There was Smile Bar, Reggae Bar, and Rock Bar. These places were awesome! I never went into Rock Bar, but Smile and Reggae Bar had bonfires you could hang out around and hammocks you could lounge in. Smile Bar played anything from techno to top 40 to dubstep. Reggae Bar played some reggae and Manu Chao's "Clandestina" every night I was there (which was almost every night I was in Vang Vieng).

Fire Dancing

Reggae Bar was one of my favorite places. The owner was really friendly and chatted everyone up and we basically sat in the hammocks and chilled around the bonfire talking to some very interesting people. I even bumped into a friend I met in Chiang Mai! Next thing I know it's 5 AM and I'm on my way back to our guesthouse riding on a motorcycle for the first time wedged between two other people. Solid first night in Vang Vieng.