Besides Tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos

Everyone goes to Vang Vieng in Laos to do tubing down the river.... don't get me wrong the tubing is amazing!, but there is another experience beyond the grubby town and the countless party going tourists, Vang Vieng holds some of the most beautiful Country side in the whole country of Laos,

So my experience began with bargaining for my Moto rental (a little bit sketchy but everything worked out) which turned out to only cost about ten US dollars not including my petrol. After spending a whopping three US dollars on petrol me and my girlfriend head out into the country side crossing the river on what looked like was a bridge of some sort.

The trail is rough and bumpy and has countless toll booths to which some are paid, and others are just quickly by passed. As you get further and further from the bass pounding sound from the countless bars on the river, it gets more and more gorgeous. You stroll along farmers ploughing through their rice fields and quaint small villages with much too see and explore. After about 45 km of rough road, we made a stop in a small town to look for food, which turned out to be our end of trail because of the youth driving by us weilding AK 47's. So we quickly climbed on our Moto's and returned using a detour and stopping at what the local's were calling "The Blue Lagoon", this Lagoon turned out to be beautiful, and made and excellent spot to swim and cool off. Beside the Lagoon was a restaurant which featured a small thatched hut on stilts in the middle of what looked to be a pond.

The hut felt as if it might fall over, but it held us long enough to finish our meals. The food here was excellent, it was a mixture of Laos and Chinese cuisine. When the time came to pay the bill the owner told us we were the first customers in eight months, this was sad to hear but gave you the feeling you are doing something not too many tourists do. The journey back was maybe even more beautiful then when we started, the sun was setting and the temperature was cooler, after about two hours we could hear the noise of Vang Vieng once again, and the pristine country side was left behind us. So the next time your in Vang Vieng, and tubing has lost its excitement, try heading out of the tourist trail.