Personally, having been to the place before, and done my fair share of tubing, this time around Id already made a decision to NOT tube, and to not just treat it as another place to get messed up. I wanted to avoid becoming part of what for me has ruined Vang Vieng. And since I am not a fan of long bus rides, a stay here is a necessity to break up the Luang Prabang to Vientiane journey.

So instead I explored around the town – and how it has changed over the years, from a small village of bamboo huts to a bustling town with never-ending construction, bars and reruns of Family Guy & Friends – the cave systems in the area are really wonderful, many sited near/under the karst formations that are such a grand backdrop to the awful sight of wasted westerners floating down the river. Even getting out of town across the river is a relief at times, walk away from the river and you start to see the older Laos still struggling on, only a stones throw away from the debauchery that has over run this once quiet corner of a quieter country, don’t get me wrong, Laos deserves to grow as all countries do, but is this really the best way?

The worst thing about my visit is that somehow I erased all the images I had taken while there, and did not notice until I was long gone from Vang Vieng, making all my efforts to avoid the uglier side of the place, moot. At least I now backup my images everyday.

So did I get a T-shirt, No. I found my fun in other places in town and yes I still mingled with the other travellers around, but I did not focus solely on getting trashed while in town, and since I did not tube, why would I have wanted a t-shirt that says “Tubing In The Vang Vieng Laos” to wear for the rest of my days in Laos. Shame they don’t do ones especially for the bitter and jaded like me.