Well, there goes the river

THANK FUCK IT’S FRIDAY? I sincerely doubt anyone in Vang Vien had a week from hell. I didn’t even know it was Friday. And I don’t think anyone else did either. Lying down while eating “happy” pizza and watching Friends, or tubing down Vang Vien’s river-gauntlet of bars and tree swings doesn’t make for a tough week. And thus being so excited for Friday seems strange because everyone’s been partying like it's New Year’s every night anyways.

You only need to look at the drink specials to see what a tiny town in the mountains in Laos has become. I didn't see it coming, but when I was here a year ago all this was on its way. The town has grown drastically but only in businesses that cater to backpackers like bars, Internet cafes, restaurants, bungalows, and roti pancake carts. Unlike Luang Prabang or Vientiane, Vang Vien has become a party destination for the young backpackers. Here in the middle of the day, the streets are quiet while everyone hides in the river or in the shade, but at night bars offer beer Laos, vodka shooters, rice dishes, weed pizza, and mushroom shakes, all on the same menu.

Tubing down the river has become the highlight of a stay in Vang Vien, complete with spectacular views, cold Beer Laos for cheap, tree swing stunts, and Lao Lao. The river is wide, in some areas deep, and if it flowed any more slowly, it would be sitting still. Only a year and a half ago the scene was relatively quiet with only a handful of bars offering to pull you in with a long bamboo pole, but now it's been turned into a Laotian river theme park of bars and crazy structures daring tubers to swing, dive, or zip down into the water in front of everyone. Several new large bars have gone on the back along with three bridges. A year and a half ago I felt I was lost in Laos floating down the river, but now cars park along the side reminding the tubers that town isn't far away.

For as awfully touristy as the river tubing has become, it's fun as hell. Going down the river is a great way to keep cool during the day, and looking out at Vang Vien's mountains is a great way to relax. The different stunts are fun to do and even more fun to watch if someone does something daring or stupid or both.

But the build up on the river has come at a large cost. Showing no signs of letting up, more and more bars are being built as the land is bought up. In one stretch of the river a large piece of machinery was reshaping the bank to make room for a new bar and on the opposite side, a line of 16 new concrete bungalows were going up. The quiet was replaced by re-mixes, the clunking of a backhoe, and the static sound of welders.

While the tubers got in and out of the water jumping, drinking, relaxing, the locals came down to wash their hair, fish, and collect water. The water is clear and the fisherman were able to catch some fish, but this place is a conflict of interests. The Laotians are making great businesses out of their bars but the 200 backpackers that go down the short stretch of river are doing more to hurt it than help it. Similarly, what used to feel like a quiet, relaxed tube rie with the occasional party at a bar has become a night club on the river. Maybe I'm getting old but some how, hearing "My Hump" blared out of speakers while floating down the river isn't what I'm looking for.


At the end of the day, the tubing was fun despite the construction along the way. The boys out to catch fish caught fish, and the tubers had a great time too. This part of the river is a small stretch several kilometers long, and outside of it the calm and serenity of the Laotian countryside remains. Still, the growth of Vang Vien has been strictly catered towards the backpacker party tour of South East Asia. Without the mountains looming over the town, it would be easy to forget where you really are. The stores in town now lure people in to Skype in A/C, or, "pimp your iPod", or maybe just lay back and watch an entire season of your favorite TV show on DVD. The sad thing is that when you're staying in Vang Vien you forget that you're out in the middle of nowhere.