Quote:
Originally Posted by GP_Matt
If you enter find yourself in Vang Vieng, Laos tubing the Nam Song river is a must. The town is a party town but is a fun stop if you are traveling down the river to Vientienne.
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If you find yourself in Vang Vieng, do not spend your days there watching Friends and Family Guy reruns with the Australian backpacker crowd. There's some attraction to walking down to "party island" in the evening, grabbing a hammock overlooking the river and ordering a few joints or a bag a weed (it's actually on the menu), but it's just depressing during the day. Rent a scooter (preferably a Japanese one) and ride north as far as you can. The people are ridiculously friendly, the scenery is beautiful, you won't see another tourist, and the food is delicious if you just stop anywhere that you see a crowd. At most of the restaurants, there won't be a menu or any choices to make other than your beverage. They make one thing, and they make it well (often, but not always, a delicious pho-like soup). I've traveled a lot, but my scooter rides in Lao are some of the most fun times I've ever had. Lao really is a awesome place as long as you don't spend all your time with Australians while you're there.
Also, I can't recommend the sleeper train from Vientiene (technically Nong Khai just over the border) to Bangkok highly enough.