Vang Vieng, Laos

Vang Vieng, Laos is a beautiful mountain town that is a hot spot for backpackers because of it’s mega party scene. The big highlight is tubing down the river which is lined with bars that you can stop at, collect bracelets for the beers you drink along the way. A wide array of drugs are supposed to be readily available here, but that’s not what brought Stacey and me there.

A friend of mine from college lived in Laos for a few years and I asked him for advice and he told us that it was stunning, and he was absolutely right. We didn’t do the tubing or the drugs, but instead found outdoor things to do, explored the town and we went to a couple of bars with our friends we made on the night bus we took out of Don Det.

I think that the tuk-tuks in Vang Vieng were some of the cutest tuk-tuks I’ve ever seen. I love the colors and the little signs.

I cannot get enough of these beautiful hazy mountains.

This cafe / restaurant had delicious coffee shakes, not so delicious food, but gorgeous mountain views and (like almost every restaurant in Vang Vieng) the tv show Friends on repeat!

Serious, it was everywhere! 

Stacey, Mark, Chloe and I went to the Kangaroo Bar (where you get to roll dice for free drinks or shots), Sakura Bar (which has free drinks for the first hour & no cover charge) and the Irish Bar (which is quite Irish).

There’s a small, cozy temple there. When we were there the main Buddha was covered for construction, but even with that this was still a beautiful temple.

If you want some amazing sweets I highly recommend the Luang Prabang Cafe. It is absolutely delicious and their donuts are top notch!

Vang Vieng is truly so much more than a party town. There are natural sites, quirky restaurants, temples and cozy streets & bridges over the river.

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