There are lessons to learn on our travels and no matter how much travel experience we have, we are always prone to make mistakes. So here is where travel went badly wrong for me, and I'm warning you to be careful too! I'm not proud of my horrendous time in the wonderful town of Vang Vieng! Things all went wrong for in Vang Vieng and for this reason my memories of Laos are rather negative and jaded, apart from the fact that I was there with a top mate of mine. I'm not going to tell you how to go tubing, I'm going to tell you my story and how NOT to go tubing in Vang Vieng Laos...
After arriving in Vang Vieng you will meet a host of new friends to party the night away with in the many bars there. Enjoy yourself but remember not to drink too much - as the next day you are probably going tubing!
I woke up, moved hostels and got ready for the day of tubing that lay ahead. It was some experience being in Vang Vieng to start with. Great town. We arrived at the first bar for tubing.
What followed was just an awesome few hours. I met tons of new people and we were having fun, "tubing" but hold on...we weren't really tubing yet. We had played mud volleyball, danced away and thrown frisbees at cans. It was time to go tubing. You might have heard that "tubing" is really just drinking, and that proved to be the case. You will spend more time in the bars than on the tubes.
Before starting the tubing I bought one of those tubing waterproof bags. Big mistake by the way - they are not safe or secure in any way. I shouldn't have bought one and I shouldn't have brought it with me. After getting in my tube at the second bar, I struggled in the fast waters and didn't make it over to the next bar. In amidst the struggle I lost my wallet and camera and my green waterproof bag in the madness of it all. It was gone forever.
Going with it was my entire money and credit cards for the entire trip, plus 3 other ID cards and my camera full of memories of photos and videos. Oh dear! And I was now stranded in a bar in Vang Vieng. With other people of course. I met up with my mate Chaz again in the bar and he too had lost his wallet but kept his phone. He luckily didn't bring all his cards with him and I still have no idea why I risked taking everything into the river that day. Maybe to teach myself a lesson and realise I was wrong. I trusted myself more than I trusted the hostel, and I was wrong to do that.
My mate Chaz bought me a drink in that next bar as did an Irish girl and then I drank water, grasping a pair of flip flops and my travelling Northern Ireland flag. It was odd to me.
Later on it was obvious that I also had an ear infection from the swimming in the Nam Song river. The only good thing was my passport was back at the hostel and that I was healthy and safe!
After the third bar and with no money or anything, I walked along looking in vain for a clue as to where my wallet had gone. I was in the middle of nowhere and it was getting dark.
A local Laos girl called Micky runs over to me and asks what the problem is. "I have nothing left here - any chance of a lift back to Vang Vieng?" I said and the heroine that she was she headed over to a remote garage, pulled out a scooter, told her friends she was giving me a lift and on the back of the scooter I went, flying through the rainy, wet, drizzly Laos countryside wondering what the hell I had done today. I wanted to give up travel in an instant. That was it - I was done with travel. I didn't even have any money now - to pay the hostel or to get out of Vang Vieng. A popular Norwegian, Arnie's Hostel Nam Song Gardens was next door to mine and I sat with him, he gave me a free beer and listened to my story. We'll end things there, how did I recover and ever want to travel again after this? And how did I get money to stay the night and continue my trip? A story for another day, my friends...
Drugs and alcohol are readily available in Vang Vieng and in the tubing. Be careful and watch out for the countless people on magic mushrooms and opium!
Lessons to learn about the dangers of tubing in Vang Vieng, LAOS:
- ONLY take money with you. BELIEVE ME - that's all you need!!
- Make sure you don't take a camera - you will lose it or it will get broken. Borrow photos from others.
- Make sure you don't use or take one of those waterproof bags in with you
- Don't drink too much
- Try not to take drugs (there are lots available)
So in closing, head to Vang Vieng and enjoy it, but BE CAREFUL! People die in the river ever year, at least I survived, at the end of the day, it's only money...
The town of Vang Vieng is still excellent though!
Safe travels!
Have fun checking out Vang Vieng...
Jonny Blair
After arriving in Vang Vieng you will meet a host of new friends to party the night away with in the many bars there. Enjoy yourself but remember not to drink too much - as the next day you are probably going tubing!
I woke up, moved hostels and got ready for the day of tubing that lay ahead. It was some experience being in Vang Vieng to start with. Great town. We arrived at the first bar for tubing.
What followed was just an awesome few hours. I met tons of new people and we were having fun, "tubing" but hold on...we weren't really tubing yet. We had played mud volleyball, danced away and thrown frisbees at cans. It was time to go tubing. You might have heard that "tubing" is really just drinking, and that proved to be the case. You will spend more time in the bars than on the tubes.
Before starting the tubing I bought one of those tubing waterproof bags. Big mistake by the way - they are not safe or secure in any way. I shouldn't have bought one and I shouldn't have brought it with me. After getting in my tube at the second bar, I struggled in the fast waters and didn't make it over to the next bar. In amidst the struggle I lost my wallet and camera and my green waterproof bag in the madness of it all. It was gone forever.
Going with it was my entire money and credit cards for the entire trip, plus 3 other ID cards and my camera full of memories of photos and videos. Oh dear! And I was now stranded in a bar in Vang Vieng. With other people of course. I met up with my mate Chaz again in the bar and he too had lost his wallet but kept his phone. He luckily didn't bring all his cards with him and I still have no idea why I risked taking everything into the river that day. Maybe to teach myself a lesson and realise I was wrong. I trusted myself more than I trusted the hostel, and I was wrong to do that.
My mate Chaz bought me a drink in that next bar as did an Irish girl and then I drank water, grasping a pair of flip flops and my travelling Northern Ireland flag. It was odd to me.
Later on it was obvious that I also had an ear infection from the swimming in the Nam Song river. The only good thing was my passport was back at the hostel and that I was healthy and safe!
After the third bar and with no money or anything, I walked along looking in vain for a clue as to where my wallet had gone. I was in the middle of nowhere and it was getting dark.
A local Laos girl called Micky runs over to me and asks what the problem is. "I have nothing left here - any chance of a lift back to Vang Vieng?" I said and the heroine that she was she headed over to a remote garage, pulled out a scooter, told her friends she was giving me a lift and on the back of the scooter I went, flying through the rainy, wet, drizzly Laos countryside wondering what the hell I had done today. I wanted to give up travel in an instant. That was it - I was done with travel. I didn't even have any money now - to pay the hostel or to get out of Vang Vieng. A popular Norwegian, Arnie's Hostel Nam Song Gardens was next door to mine and I sat with him, he gave me a free beer and listened to my story. We'll end things there, how did I recover and ever want to travel again after this? And how did I get money to stay the night and continue my trip? A story for another day, my friends...
Drugs and alcohol are readily available in Vang Vieng and in the tubing. Be careful and watch out for the countless people on magic mushrooms and opium!
Lessons to learn about the dangers of tubing in Vang Vieng, LAOS:
- ONLY take money with you. BELIEVE ME - that's all you need!!
- Make sure you don't take a camera - you will lose it or it will get broken. Borrow photos from others.
- Make sure you don't use or take one of those waterproof bags in with you
- Don't drink too much
- Try not to take drugs (there are lots available)
So in closing, head to Vang Vieng and enjoy it, but BE CAREFUL! People die in the river ever year, at least I survived, at the end of the day, it's only money...
The town of Vang Vieng is still excellent though!
Safe travels!
Have fun checking out Vang Vieng...
Jonny Blair
About the Author:
For more funny adventure stories and tips like Tubing Going Wrong in Vang Vieng head to Jonny Blair's extremely recommended site A Lifestyle of adventure.
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