Vang Vieng is a town in the middle of a transition. In fact, since tourists found the town a few years back, it’s seemed to always be in transition. Starting as a sleepy river town, backed by beautiful limestone mountains, the town became a pretty disgusting representation of western party tourism, turning into a drug, sex and tubing mecca. After a few drowning deaths this year, the town has now closed its seedy bars and is returning to a sleepy, quiet village.
I was reluctant to visit the town, due to its history, but having made it here after a long motorbike ride, I found it to be quite charming. The river blankets the edge of the town, and bars have now adopted better food menus and calm dining atmospheres.
Still being in the habit of running at night, after watching the sunset behind the surrounding peaks, I set off on the main road heading toward Vientiane. With the sun setting at my back, the road was actually quite calm. Large cargo trucks had stopped their rigs for the evening, and besides a few roadside eateries, the path was almost deserted.
