The trip from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is breathtaking - and long and exhausting.

A good asphalt road connects Luang Prabang with Vang Vieng.

It is definitely not a good asphalt road. So much to the statement in Wikipedia (sometimes I wonder where the online dictionary gets its informations).

But bad roads make driving a minibus a special adventure through a wonderful landscape.

I'm very happy about that. I can have good roads at home, here it's all about gaining experience at the limit. And this pass drive with a chauffeur who often drives to the limit of what is permissible is actually a special borderline experience.

After all, it stops from time to time, these stops, mostly located somewhere in the middle of nowhere and only secured in their existence by the stops of the passing cars, are always a special highlight.

 

Stops in no man's land

I love this special atmosphere. A short exhalation, the loosening of the cramped joints. Drinking a cup of coffee, talking to your fellow travellers, perhaps even in rare cases finding the souvenir that you have been looking for for a long time and which you find in this strange place of all places.

 

Stop in nowhere land  not really inviting

Stop in nowhere with not really inviting toilet

The road leads along densely forested mountain slopes, cutting through the slopes like a knife, curve after curve, a dusty affair.

The promised asphalt has disappeared for miles or never existed at all. Sometimes the driver is forced to slow down to walking pace to avoid the deep holes. But things are moving forward, hour by hour, kilometer by kilometer. Occasionally my eyes close. The poor sleep last night is taking its toll.

An older English couple is sitting next to me. Again and again it is amazing how people of advanced age take on first-class strains. However, there is a country-specific distinction to be made here. In most cases it is about people from the Anglo-Saxon area, Englishmen, Americans, Australians. Our latitudes are rarely represented in these statistics. Too concerned about security?

 

Non-Stop Party

Eventually we reach Vang Vieng, today's destination. I feel instantly in the wrong film. Or is it the wrong age? What can you say about a place that must have been very beautiful in the past, but that has now become a gathering place for all sins of the world?

Vang Vieng evening - blurry
Vang Vieng in the evening - blurred

The town is teeming with mostly very young Travellers (or rather with young people who are flown in here to let themselves get drunk for a few days). The story is probably simple: at some point someone discovered the undoubtedly existing charm of the landscape, combined with tubing, cheap drinks and above all more or less freely accessible drugs.

I have found an quite new hotel. Price ok, rooms also, but in the middle of the bathroom there's a kind of an elevation, perfect for breaking the foot. The hotel is only a few meters from the first bars and restaurants. So it might get loud at night.

 

Alcohol-induced unconsciousness

The walk through the village reminds me of the Ballermann centers on Crete. To the alcoholic oaks that are still lying on the sidewalks in the morning in advanced, alcohol-induced fainting. It's not that bad, but it's pretty close. Another strange thing about the place is that in all the numerous restaurants and bars only "Friends" is shown on the TV screens. It is also in my guide, but you only believe it when you actually see it.

 

The surrounding countryside with its incomparable limestone landscape is, however, impressive, grandiose in its quiet beauty. I will therefore add another day to go on a bike tour. Let's see if Vang Vieng has the one or the other highlight in store.

 

P.S. Matching Song:  Ian Dury & the Blockheads - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

And here the journey continues ...

 

Related Articles

Leave a comment

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked

This website uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn more about how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Travelbridge

Subscribe now to continue reading and access the entire archive.

Read more