Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nam Ngum
On the water's edge in Na Nam 020 5551 3521.
The busiest and best-staffed
of the restaurants overlooking the water, with freshly caught reservoir fish cooked in a vari-
ety of ways, such as fish
tom yam
(50,000K). Seats at the back have exceptional views of the
lake.
Daily 7am-8pm.
SOUTHERN SHORE
DanSaVanh Nam Ngum Resort
On the reservoir's southern edge 021 5827 5555,
dansavanh.com
.
The largest and least subtle of the attempts to turn the reservoir into a major
tourist attraction, DanSaVanh is a huge Chinese-owned hotel complete with casino, golf
courses and a marina.
Vang Vieng and around
Change comes slowly to rural Laos, but
VANG VIENG
, the once-sleepy town that reclines
on the east bank of the Nam Song River between towering limestone karsts, is something of
a rare exception. Not so long ago, the main street was a potholed track, crowds were rare, and
accommodation was limited to a handful of guesthouses. Then, as thousands of party-hungry
backpackers descended on the self-styled “tubing capital of the world”, the Lao government
found itself struggling to control an inland version of Thailand's Ko Pha Ngan, complete with
the drugs and drunken revelry.
Only in 2012, following the deaths of dozens of foreign tourists - mostly as a result of them
being drunk or high on the river - did the government take action. The bars and nightclubs
that had grown up around the river were torn down, their vertiginous rope swings and slides
dismantled, and tubing all but stopped. When word got out, tourist arrivals fell by as much as
seventy percent, and locals who'd taken out loans to build guesthouses and hotels during the
boom years were left indebted, with little hope of paying their bills.
Today the place is slowly finding its feet again, with less of a focus on tubing, and new,
more wholesome activities and day-trips attracting a different kind of tourist. The days of
happy shakes and opium pizzas look to be well and truly over, though frustrated locals, many
of whom were reliant on the backpacker trade, have successfully persuaded the authorities to
allow a handful of bars to reopen along the river. Tubing undoubtedly remains a big draw, but
as the jaw-droppingly beautiful landscape around town opens up to tourists, and more visit-
ors see the appeal of spending a week here cycling, caving, rafting and hiking, there may be
another, more positive way for the place to move forward.
Organized day tours, many of which combine both tubing and
caving
with lunch in
between, are a fast and convenient way for the uninitiated to get into the Vang Vieng groove:
once you've done the tour you can go back for more on your own. It's not hard to find a
guided tour - just look for signs posted in restaurants and guesthouses. If you do opt to join a
