Vang Vieng: Spring Break in a 3rd World Country

Between Luang Prabang and Vientiane lies the new backpacker Mecca of Vang Vieng. Why it developed into what it is today is no mystery. The scenery is beautiful. The calm Nam Song river runs alongside some stunning Karst peaks as they pass this once tiny village.

If Laos isn't technically a 3rd World country, feel free to substitute the word "developing" in the title of this entry.

I know that for anyone who hasn't been to Southeast Asia, this probably seems like a ridiculous stretch, but I challenge you to tube down the Nam Song with hundreds of other travelers, floating with a Beer Lao in hand while pop music blares from the speakers of volleyball court-equipped riverside bars and bodies catapult to the water from zip-lines above you. If not "Spring Break," I think you'd at least have to give me something akin to "Senior Trip."

With the amount of drugs and dreadlocks, you'd think a direct flight just opened from Amsterdam to Vang Vieng.

Trying to find a Laotian who isn't involved in tourist commerce in one way or another would be like trying to find Waldo in a sea of candy canes.

I can't say I didn't enjoy my time watching episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy from the pillow-laden bamboo mats of cafes or the easy access to tubing and kayaking in the Great Outdoors. It's just that a more authentic version of Vang Vieng would have been nice... whatever that means.