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...
Arriving in Vang Vieng you can feel the buzz about the place - it's a mad place to party. You will meet new friends and drink and party the night away in the many bars there. But be aware that you will be wakening up the next morning to go tubing - know your limits!
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.
I loved the next few hours as the tubing began. Everyone started dancing, drinking, partying and just having a great time. It was fun and all was good!
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!
By the time I was in the third bar I wanted just to go home, I had lost everything and couldn't even pay for a ride home. It was now almost dark.
A local girl called Mickey saved the day, popping over with a scooter asking me to jump on and giving me a ride through the pouring rain back to the town of Vang Vieng. Pure madness. I was safe and well, but the tubing experience had been a bad one.
In Vang Vieng you can get all sort of drinks and drugs. Mushroom and Opium shakes are the buzz. I met loads of people off their heads on drugs.
Here's the lessons I learnt from the horrible tubing experience in Vang Vieng, Laos:
- Take only money with you - trust me.
- Make sure you don't take a camera - you will lose it or it will get broken. Borrow photos from others.
- DON'T take a waterproof bag - they are useless!
- Go easy on the alcohol consumption
- Try not to take drugs (there are lots available)
So to conclude - go to Vang Vieng and enjoy yourself but be aware of the dangers of tubing. People die there.
It's still a great town though!
Enjoy your trips!
Have fun checking out Vang Vieng...
Don't Stop Living!
Arriving in Vang Vieng you can feel the buzz about the place - it's a mad place to party. You will meet new friends and drink and party the night away in the many bars there. But be aware that you will be wakening up the next morning to go tubing - know your limits!
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.
I loved the next few hours as the tubing began. Everyone started dancing, drinking, partying and just having a great time. It was fun and all was good!
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!
By the time I was in the third bar I wanted just to go home, I had lost everything and couldn't even pay for a ride home. It was now almost dark.
A local girl called Mickey saved the day, popping over with a scooter asking me to jump on and giving me a ride through the pouring rain back to the town of Vang Vieng. Pure madness. I was safe and well, but the tubing experience had been a bad one.
In Vang Vieng you can get all sort of drinks and drugs. Mushroom and Opium shakes are the buzz. I met loads of people off their heads on drugs.
Here's the lessons I learnt from the horrible tubing experience in Vang Vieng, Laos:
- Take only money with you - trust me.
- Make sure you don't take a camera - you will lose it or it will get broken. Borrow photos from others.
- DON'T take a waterproof bag - they are useless!
- Go easy on the alcohol consumption
- Try not to take drugs (there are lots available)
So to conclude - go to Vang Vieng and enjoy yourself but be aware of the dangers of tubing. People die there.
It's still a great town though!
Enjoy your trips!
Have fun checking out Vang Vieng...
Don't Stop Living!
About the Author:
For more funny travel stories and tips like Tubing Going Wrong in Vang Vieng head to Jonny Blair's extremely recommended site A Lifestyle of Travel.. Free reprint available from: How Not to go Tubing in Vang Vieng.
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