Slow boat down the Mekong and Tubing in Vang Vieng

Hello all, hope everyone is well. I am now in Laos and have been for the last 10 days. My last blog ended with me just about to board the slow boat in 'Huay Xai' at the Laos border. The trip would take 2 whole days lasting 8 hrs each and arrive in Luang Prabang at around 5pm on Friday 18th, with a 1 nights stop over in small town called 'Pak Beng'.

Wednesday 18th November

Slow boat down the Mekong

I had heard a number of horror stories in regards to the slow boats mainly in relation to over crowding. On getting down to the jetty, if you could call it that, a plank of wood stretching from shore to the boat, there were 2 slow boats, both boats already had people on them. In our group we had at least 60 people, which included Andy and Nick the guys from Hull plus a number of other people I had met in the hostel the night before and the few hours in the morning while waiting at immigration and so on. We were pointed towards one of the boats, looking from  the outside the boat was already full with only a few spaces, a few got on a filled the places, however we were still be guided to the boat, it was chaos, with lots of shouting and people refusing to board the full boat, to be fair who wanted to be cramped and standing for 8hrs. In the end we all just piled on the second boat, myself, Nick and Andy decided that we would sit if we could right on the front so we could catch some rays. The slow boats are really just large barges, there is no deck and you cant sit outside or even go outside apart from the small area at the front. Inside the set up is like a plane with double seats (car seats in fact) lined either side, at the rear there is a small 'bar' and i mean small, selling beer, snacks and soft drinks. Further back is a toilet and behind that is sort of an empty galley used for smoking and chilling, well if you call listening to the over noisy engine 'chilling'. So all on board, probably around 80 people we set off at around 11:30. We had already had a few beers and the Hull boys had picked up a slab before leaving mainland. The sun was hot but where we were sat we had the best view of the house as we set off down the famous Mekong River. The boat actually didn't go as slow as I thought it would but still slow enough to enjoy the beautiful Laos scenery and culture of rice fields, fisherman with just nets and green countryside. After a few hours I decided to go indoors and get out of the sun, there wasn't much space so headed to towards the rear, were a bunch of girls were crowded having a good time playing drinking games and getting generally sh*t faced on vodka, whiskey and Beer. A few hours later, guys had joined the group, more drinking games were played and it turned into a full on piss up and party. All kinds of people get on these boats, from backpackers, elderly travellers, tourists on holidays and locals, what some of the older generation must of thought of us and the non party people god knows but we were having a great time, especially the girls who had by now done in 3 bottles of spirts between them and number of beers. During all the mayhem i had got to know a few people and would end up travelling with them for a while later on after Luang Prabang, mainly Aimee, Thelma, Raami, Kirsty and Nit Nat. For now we all just carried on drinking, I also met here 3 Irish guys, Brian, Nick and Paul, these would turn out to be the funniest and biggest piss heads I had met so far on my travels. We had seen the other boat that we had all refused to get on a few times on the river, it certainly wasn't as lively as our boat, we were definitely the 'Party' boat. We arrived i Pak Beng after dark at around 6.30pm, everyone pissed right up, we had to negotiate a steep sandbank, really not ideal for a bunch of pissed up travelling backpackers especially in the dark. Some people had booked accommodation through the guy who had organised the slow boat, he had give a speech about how we should book through him and that we would get ripped off if we just rocked up in the town, most of thought this was rubbish and a scare monger tactic to get us to book through him. However he was partly right, not about the prices but because the town was so small there was little places to stay. On the struggle of the boat i had lost Andy and Nick and was now with the Irish contingency and a few of the girls. Eventually we found a place, well I say a place it was dining room in one of the guesthouses and they agreed to put some mattresses on the floor in a line, it would 35,000KIP each (£3), we took it, we were all drunk and planned to carry on, so anywhere would do for the night. Looking back we all thought it was cheap however since I have had whole rooms to myself for the same price. The thing with the town of Pak Beng its a nothing town, all slow boats stop here so they can charge what they want, it was however I think a very quaint town. We went for dinner which took so long to get our food that I almost sobered up. After dinner which I am sure it felt like 11pm rather than 9.30 we went looking for a bar, it didn't take long, not because there were so many but because there was only 1. 'Hive bar, the only bar in town' a sign read, we headed for it. After a long day most people had hit the sack, however party crew were still going, Aimee, Nit Nit, Kirsty, the Irish guys and Hull Nick plus a few others hit Hive, it was poky little place but we had no choice, by now i had almost drank myself sober, so mostly i sat chatting and at around midnight headed back to my mattress on the floor were I'd join the rest squeezed together like a tin of sardines, great way to get to know your fellow travellers.

Thursday 17th November

On the slow boat 2nd day

After a reasonably good nights sleep despite the conditions, I woke early as always and just chilled and read my book before getting breakfast. We all had to be back on the boat at 9am and soon everyone was waking. Aimee who had left Hive earlish the night before hadn't even remembered getting back and was feeling a little worse for wear. The Irish however were as always in a lively mood, if anyone in the whole town wanted a lie in, they could forget it. We headed down to the boat just before 9, as the day before there were 2 boats and I had already heard that 1 had already filled, the party crew all stuck together and managed to board the same board, however the Hull lads who had stayed elsewhere had got down early and on the 1st boat so had split from them, I'd seem them later however in Vang Vieng. The day started quiet with a few sore heads, especially for some of the girls. The Irish however were straight on it and by midday they and another group who had previously been on the the quieter boat the day before were taking over from the girls the day before. Myself and the Irish had boat a bottle of whiskey and within an hour we had polished it off, we were soon playing drinking games and singing. Some of the people from the quieter boat the day before must have got on ours today and we had a couple of complaints, which in all fairness was warranted, so we moved to the back of the boat were usually the smokers went and carried on with our shenanigans. The day went pretty much the same as yesterday. I must admit on both days i hadn't been that drunk, the bottles of 'BeerLaos' were heavy and filling and I had slowed down, I was really, really missing a nice cold pint of Thatchers Gold cider!!! We arrived in Luang Prabang at around 5.30 and disembarked, as the previous day no one had booked anywhere to stay. So alcohol fuelled we trudged round Luang Prabang looking for accommodation, we had all split up by now and I was left with Aimee, we found a place which to be fair was pretty expensive 150,000KIP for a twin room, however it was nice with hot shower, AC and even slippers. We met up with everyone about an hour later for Dinner. Luang Prabang has a very French feel about it, and Seeing as Laos is an ex French colony it makes sense. Not a party place, the main street sported no out and out bars, only restaurants and cafes, with at one end a pretty big night market. I wasn't too see Luang Prabang as I was moving on the next day to Vang Vieng with Aimee, Kirsty, Thelma and Nit Nat. I had lost all the guys and had no way of contacting them. I knew that within a few days they would all be in Vang Vieng anyway and Nit Nat, or Natalie from Australia and what I would call your typical hippy traveller who wore no footwear ever (unless she was going to the loo and she would borrow someone elses) was a tight schedule and had only a few days in Laos and she really wanted to tube, hence only staying one night Luang Prabang. The girls were cool and as i couldn't find the other guys thought I'd also leave with them. After trying to book a minivan through out hotel, which turned out to be mission impossible we found a travel shop and booked our tickets for the following day to Vang Vieng at the cost of 115,000KIP, around £10 for a 6 hour journey leaving at 2pm. After 2 days drinking all day on the slow boat everyone was feeling pretty shattered. We met for a dinner at a place called 'Pizza' which was known for good pizza's, personally I wanted to carry on my trend of eating the local cuisine which they also served but some of the girls really wanted pizza. I made a good choice with the local food and had 'Lab Chicken' a local Laos dish, it was SPICY though very good and came out quick which is more than could be said for the Pizza's, even though the place was called 'Pizza' and had a huge Pizza menu, they could only cook 1 pizza at a time in the kitchen, so given that there were 3 of us who ordered pizza and not to mention the other punters who ordered, some of the group had a long wait for their food, perhaps they shouldn't call themselves 'Pizza' when they can only cook one at a time. Even though all feeling tired Aimiee and Thelma were up for going out, as i mentioned earlier Luang Prabang is not a party place and the main street didn't have one bar. After asking a couple of locals we were pointed toward a 'discoteque' again very French. We had to get a tuc tuc and after 15mins we arrived at what seemed a very seedy and very local looking bar/club. It was however free entry, it was around 10:30 now and inside it was populated only by locals, not another westerner in sight, the music was local music. I really wasn't feeling it and regretting agreeing to come out, I didn't fancy a beer so chose to drink red wine in a bottle, very random but surprisingly not bad. Aimiee and Thelma were well up for it and danced around while sat at a table still wishing I had stayed in. We were soon asked by a local if we wanted to join him and his friends, it was 3 youngish guys and i was very cautious as they seem pretty drunk, we did anyway and apart from one who was studying English the rest spoke to English but to be fair they seemed pretty cool. At around 11:45 the place was full of people from the slow boat, they had been in another bar but had been chucked out after one of them got naked for a dare, of course he was English and had been a bit of a dick the whole slow boat trip. They new comers were up for a big long night until I advice them that in Laos places close at midnight!! The club did however probably realising they could make some money from drunken westerners stayed open until around 12:45am. By now i was done and couldn't wait to get to bed, we grabbed a tuc tuc and headed back.

Friday 18th November

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

After 2 days on the slow boat and plenty of alcohol I slept well and had a nice lie until around 9:30am, probably the latest I had slept in for a while. Our minivan to Vang Vieng wasn't leaving until 1.30pm so we grabbed breakfast had a decent hot shower in our nice hotel and then randomly chilled out and watched a 'Chuck Norris' film in our hotel. Aimiee, 28 from Canada, travelling alone for 3 months until December until her boyfriend meets her in Thailand, Kirsty, 27 originally from Bristol ( we know some of the same people) also travelling alone, Thelma 27, also travelling alone and from Ireland and Nit Nat, also 27 and again travelling alone from Australia all met for lunch at 12:30. Actually on time we were picked up by tuc tuc at 13:30 and taken to the local bus station and we transferred to a minivan. As well as us 5 there 2 girls from England, Lowrie and Ellie and 2 Aussies Sarah and Jack. The minivan was tight and Sarah and Jack sat up front with the driver. The drive to Vang Vieng was far from smooth, with windy, bumpy roads and potholes the size of craters. It was a dangerous road with sheer drops, one wrong move and we were over the edge. Despite the hazardous roads the scenery was awesome, with lots of greenery and mountain back drops, the journey seemed to go on forever, the highlight of the trip and brought a smile to everyone's face was the amazing sunset, the colours of the sky and cloud formation of the mountain range was spectacular. One person that really didn't enjoy the drive was Aimiee, she had felt sick the whole time and really didn't have a good journey. We arrived on the outskirts of town at around 7.30pm, we all jumped in a tuc tuc after bartering a price and we were dropped off in the middle of Vang Vieng near were we thought the hostel was, Kirsty, Nit Nat and Thelma had already booked into one and myself and Aimiee
were hoping that they had space, along with Sarah, Jack and Lowrie and Ellie who also thought they would chance to see if they had space. I think after getting the price down on  the Tuc Tuc the driver decided to get is won back and we had a 20min walk to the hostel. Pan's Place, was a little out of central Vang Vieng and the main hub of action but still close enough to walk. The hostel was run by an expat Aussie, it was basic but had a small Internet cafe and served food from 7am till 11pm. We all managed to get a room, myself and Aimiee got a twin again. The room really was basic, just 2 beds and a fan, the bathroom was a shared one but it didn't bother me and it was clean. We all freshened up and minus Lowrie and Ellie went for a little explore and find food even though it was getting on 21:30. No one was up for going out and seeing as we were Tubing the following day and no doubt going to be pretty smashed we all hit the sack.

Saturday 19th November

Vang Vieng if you didn't know is world famous for Tubing. Hiring a tube the size of an arctic lorry wheel and tubing down the (insert river) stopping along the way at river side bars, playing beer pong and drinking copious amounts of buckets as well being able to obtain mushrooms, dancing, numerous rope swings and slides and generally partying. The combination of water, drink, drugs, slides and swings, is, i am sure you will agree a dangerous combination and thousands of people each year end up loosing money, clothing, camera's and so on, as well as numerous injuries and deaths, nether the less thousands of people head each year to Laos and Vang Vieng for the infamous 'Tubing' experience. So we all rose early, I hired a 'wet bag' from Pan's reception, we hoped it would be enough to carry all our stuff, t-shirts, my small point and shoor camera and money. However I was boardies with a zipped pocket and thought the money in a plastic bag would be safer here, I also looked after Aimiee's too, with between us nearly having 2million Kip. We set off for Breakfast at around 10am had breakfast and then all, (me the four girls, Jack and Sarah and Lowrie and Ellie) set off for the tubing station. We paid 115,000 KIP which included 60,000 for the tube, if you brought it back before 6pm you would get the 60,000 back and signed our life away which basically said no one was liable for anything that happened to you. Our tubes were loaded on top of the tuc tuc and we were driven to the start of the river which was about 20min journey over some very bumpy roads. On arrival we had to cross a bridge, we were greeted by a guy who was sporting a bottle of 'Tiger' whiskey and shot glasses, even before getting to the first bar we were doing shots of rocket fuel, man that stuff is wrong!! We crossed the bridge to the first bar, it had a huge decking area on the river were you could chill, relax and catch some rays before heading down the river. There were also numerous beer pong tables, so we all got involved and played beer bong and started the downward journey of getting sh*tfaced. It was pretty quiet when we arrived when we jumped in the tubes to leave the bar was rocking. We weren't floating down river for long as the next bar was only 200m away, we were soon being thrown lines from the shore and being pulled in by the bar's staff to the river bank. They had a couple of rope swings at this bar and a 10m dive platform, i decided to give both a miss and instead headed for the bar and with flash backs from Koh Chang got on the buckets. Music was blaring and everyone now getting slowly drunk and having fun. After an hour or so we moved on and back in the tubes. We were in the tubes a little longer this time but were soon grabbing lines and being pulled to shore. This bar was less crowded but still enough people to give it an atmosphere, they also had a slide here. This bar is were it all went wrong, I had kept good care of mine and Aimiee's money also remembering to zip my pocket, however after a one time on the slide i noticed my pocket open.. yep I had lost my money, around 600,000 KIP, i was pissed off for no more than 10mins and alcohol fuelled as well as having a great time, i thought oh well, its only £30. Worst was yet to come, the wet bag that we had hired had been stuffed with too much stuff and after getting in the river the last time it hadn't been water proof, it was mainly clothes in it but my camera also was inside, this was also soaked and no longer working, to add to the money and camera loss I had also just noticed that I was minus flip flops!!! Without really having time to take it in, I was handed a bucket and all was quickly forgotten! We hit another couple of bars but by now even though only 4ish the once blazing sun had disappeared behind a mountain and it was pretty chilly even with a beer/bucket jacket on. Some of the girls feeling worse for wear jumped off the river about half way down. Basically tuc tuc men stand at certain points shouting if you want a ride back into town. Myself, Sarah, Jack, Thelma, Lowrie and Ellie stayed on and floated down river for a little while longer, my tshirt was in the bag which had now gone with the girls and it was freezing so myself, Thelma and the 2 girls also jumped with Jack and Sarah carrying on down river. We jumped in a Tuc Tuc and headed back to town, with it being so full I was literally hanging on the back. With a few KM's to go the Tuc tuc broke down, I am not surprised with the amount of people and tubes, we tried to get our money back but it was futile and he wouldn't even get us another one, Tw*t. With only 15min before 6pm we decided to walk back, flip flop less, shirtless and money less I was man possessed and managed to make just after 6pm which luckily they accepted and got my deposit back. We walked back to the hostel, now in darkness, i really must have been hammered even after the long walk, shower and food i still felt drunk. Aimiee, Kirsty and Nit Nat decided they were going to take it easy, however I was up for carrying on and so was Thelma, Lowrie, jack and Sarah headed for 'Q' bar. Now being a party town, you would expect plenty of bars and clubs, this isn't the case in Vang Vieng, everyone pretty much descends on 'Q' bar after tubing, I guess in a way its a good thing, you meet up with all the peeps you met on the river. Q bar in all fairness is a shithole, it stinks of puke and piss but as you can imagine after a day tubing drinking all day no one is any state to care. After a few buckets and a dance at Q bar i headed home around midnight after 12 hrs drinking, I maybe almost 32 but can still party!!!

Sunday 20th November

I awoke the next day still a little drunk and head feeling more than fuzzy. I grabbed some breakfast to see if it would sort me out, it did a little but after a restless nights sleep and weird dreams I was tired. I found out later that most people while in Vang Vieng experienced the same sleepless nights, this I also found out was due to a form of redbull called 'M-150' banned in a lot of countries they add to most buckets to give you a kick, its alleged to have amphetamine in it, which would explain a lot. Nit Nat was also leaving today, we said our goodbyes and Aimiee who i was sharing with decided that my snoring was too much and wanted some girlie love, as Thelma, Kirsty and Nit Nat were sharing and with Nit Nat leaving she could now move in with those guys, which left a room to myself. at only 30,000 a night less than £3 I really didn't mind. The rest of the day I wondered round in a daze, visiting one of the many, many restaurants which most had wifi and randomly played either only friends or family guy. To be fair as shit as the actual place of Vang Vieng is the set up is quite good with all these chill out spots to relax after days of tubing. Mid afternoon i found the girls down by the river chilling and sun bathing. We spent a few hours reading and chilling before the sun went down and heading back to shower and change. We ate dinner in a BBQ restaurant that served fresh BBQ chicken and Fish. I opted for the fish and sticky rice, it was REALLY good. After dinner we headed to a place next door that served 'happy shakes' we shared a few between us but in all honesty had no effect. After a few beers and getting the taste myself and Thelma headed to Q bar again, not Tubing that day and still quite sober, Q bar is a hard place, with most people on a completely different level to yourself. However tonight I was reunited with the Irish guys and Raami along with Jack and Simon a couple of other guys who had been on the slow boat and were travelling together. The Irish guys were wasted as always with Nick barley even able to stand, they hadn't even been tubing had just arrived early in VV and got on it. Q bar closes at midnight and everyone then heads down towards the river to 'Sunset bar' a more chilled and relaxed place with an open fire, usually by now the numbers decrease as all day tubers start to fade away. I left around 3am actually feeling quite sober even after 3-4 buckets, though i had shared them Thelma.

Monday 21st November

With now nearly everyone in town that i had met on the slow boat including Nick and Andy who i had also seen the night before in Q bar it was going to be a lively and messy affair on the river Tubing. we had all agreed to meet around midday and by 1pm we were all drinking and playing beer pong at the first bar on the river. I was right, it was a messy affair, however this time i had only took money, flip flops, Tshirts and camera were all left being with only swim shorts and money i couldn't loose anything. As can you imagine as they day went on it got messier and messier. We didn't make it past the 3rd bar by the time sun disappeared behind the hill side, myself, Andy, Nick and Irish Nick grabbed a tuc tuc back before 6pm to get our deposit back on the tubes. We then ate some food while watching another episode of family guy and agreed to meet at 8pm at Q bar to carry on the antics. I got back to the hostel and laid on my bed and crashed out. I awoke at 10pm, feeling not the greatest, however i showered and headed for Q bar, i took one step inside and turned around, i really was not on the same level as everyone else. I found a restaurant and that was playing friends and was joined by Aimiee who hadn't tubed due to still not feeling good from the previous days tubing. we got some food and watched friends before having an early night.

Tuesday 22nd November

In all honesty there isn't much to say about today other than that Kirsty left for Hanoi in Vietnam. I was done with drinking and tubing, since leaving Chiang Mai I really hadn't had a day off the drink, I had hurt back the previous when tubing and had a rather large lump on my lower back after hitting a rock in the tube, i later found out i had tissue damage and just had to wait for It settle down. I spent the day chilling and looking for a new pair of flip flops which i still hadn't bought since loosing mine on  the 1st day tubing, i was getting used to walking round in bare feet.

Wednesday 23rd November

Dusty Road to Blue Lagoon

I was feeling refreshed but still not 100%, myself and Aimiee along with Raami, Jack and Simon all from England along with 3 girls they knew, Angela, Laura and Sandra and a German guy we had also met on the boat Marcell headed out on a day trip to a local blue lagoon. After a fiasco with Tuc Tuc's and prices we made a rather bumpy and dusty 20min journey to the lagoon. The lagoon wasn't amazing but was good. The lagoon was really chilled with decked areas to chill out and a bar/restaurant shack to buy food and drink. The prices were extortionate and double that of Vang Vieng. The water was fresh and cooling and was welcomed after days of tubing and drinking. There was also a cave to visit, we made the 15min very steep walk to the cave. The cave again wasn't amazing, it was a hot, hot day and we were all sweating buckets but it was nice to do some exercise and something different.

Inside the Cave

After a 30min trek through the cave we headed back to the lagoon to cool down before heading back to Vang Vieng. After showering and changing we all agreed to meet for dinner at 7.30pm. In the mean time the once glorious sun had gone and we had a down pour of rain and when i say rain, i mean rain, the type that stings your skin on impact. Nether the less we headed out to the meeting restaurant which was the BBQ place we had previously been. I had the chicken this time along with sticky rice, again it was good. That night despite me being sick of drinking, i was peer pressured, yes that's right forced into drinking again and after a few buckets i was merrily drunk. In all fairness I was slightly pissed with myself for giving in but had a good night anyway and ended up again at sunset bar until 4am.

Thursday 24th November

We were all done with Vang Vieng and the previous day had decided to leave for Pakse in the south of Laos, there isn't much to do in Pakse but Ellie had lived there for 5months and given me some tips on what to do. The main reason for heading south was to visit the 4000 islands. we had bought tickets the previous day for 260,000 and would be a 4hr trip to Vientiane and then a short stop of a couple of hours before 11 hour overnight journey on a sleeper bus to Pakse. Raami had decided to join us along with a girl he had met Bridget from Australia, those 2 myself, Aimiee and Thelma left behind the craziness of Vang Vieng at 13:30 and headed for Vientiane.  We arrived in Vientiane around 6pm. Though the capital the of Laos, we had all decided that there isn't really alot to do so would give it a miss. So far Laos hadn't really impressed me, the local Laos food wasn't that great and not much to choose from compared to Thailand I was hoping for all that to change when we got away from Vang Vieng. we boarded the sleeper bus at around 7.30, they were pretty cool and comfy if not a little small. 3 quarter mattresses with pillows and blankets set up like bunk from front to back. They were for 2 people and as Thelma shared with Aimiee and Raami with Bridget I had one to myself, so I thought. We were the first on, so i waited in anticipation at the joy of the rest to see who i would be paired with. We set off from the station at around 8pm, I was overjoyed that I could spread out with a bed all to myself. I had just nodded off when i got a shake and a short Laos man asked me to move over. I was gutted and unable to get in the foetal and not wanting to spoon a stranger along with my painful lump in my back, for 11 hours i hardly slept, with no lights on either not even the overhead reading lights working i couldn't even read, it was long uncomfortable journey to say the least, that wasn't helped by now and again the little Laos man getting a little close for comfort.

So finally I am almost up to date after a month of not blogging, I am surprised how good my memory is. I am now only 5 days behind which I will write about in a new blog.