Laos - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 624

Getting There & Away
Buses from the Southern Bus Station ( Click here ) in Vientiane leave regularly for Ban
Tha Bok and Paksan. For Ban Na get off at Tha Pha Bat near the Km 81 stone; Ban Na is
about 2km north.
For Ban Hat Khai, stay on the bus until a turn-off left (north) at Km 92, just before Ban
Tha Bok. Then take any passing sŏrngtăaou the 5km to Ban Huay Leuk. Ban Hat Khai is
2km further. For the various waterfalls, find detailed information at
www.trekkingcentrallaos.com , or through the tourist information centre ( Click here ) in Vi-
entiane. If you need a bed en route, there are two decent guesthouses in Tha Bok.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Vang Vieng
023 / POP 30,000
Like a rural scene from an Oriental silk painting, Vang Vieng crouches low over the Nam
Song (Song River) with a backdrop of serene cliffs and a tapestry of vivid green paddy
fields. Thanks to the iron fist of the Lao government making its presence felt in 2012, the
previously toxic party scene has been banished, the river rave bars have been forcibly
closed, and the community is recalibrating itself as an outdoor paradise, with some
achingly lovely boutique hotels and a raft of adrenalin-inducing, nature-based activities.
For the first time in years Western families and a more mature crowd are visiting to
kayak the Nam Song, go caving and climb the karsts. Relief describes the current feeling
of Vang Vieng's inhabitants, with locals glad the town is no longer troubled by thumping
music, disrespectful teens and the misconception that anything goes.
Spend a few days here - rent a scooter, take a motorcycle tour, go tubing or trekking -
and prepare to manually close your jaw, as you gape at one of Laos' most stunningly pic-
turesque spots.