Vang Vieng Temples

monks on bikes

Back in the 90s, and all the way until the mid-2000s, Vang Vieng was known as a backpacker's paradise. It used to be quite a wild town, famous for its wild parties, cheap drugs, nearly free alcohol, and the hippies who would spend weeks partying and tubing down the Nam Song River.

Vang Vieng's main road

Thankfully, things have changed. After a series of fatal accidents in the river, the government cracked down on Vang Vieng, closing nearly all of the bars and clubs. Today, the city is beginning to regain its soul and its charm. While fewer and fewer tourists are now coming here, today it's now beginning to be known for its adventure travel, eco tourism, beautiful nature, and fresh air.

Vang Vieng

We never would have come to Vang Vieng ten years ago. That's just the sort of place that I tend to stay far away from while traveling, but today it has a draw for me. We spend our first day in the city of 25,000 (one of the largest cities in Laos) exploring Vang Vieng's often-overlooked cultural side.

temple

Vang Vieng is basically three parallel roads running next to a large gravel field - the remains of a Vietnam War-era Air America airfield, which today serves as the town's bus station. There's no need for a city bus or even any sort of tuk-tuk service. You can get anywhere on foot in a matter of minutes. We set out early in the morning for a small Buddhist temple that was just down the main road from our guest house.

statues

Like Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma, Laos is a Theravada Buddhist country, and the temples are the center of religious and civic life. This early in the morning, it was quiet at the temples. A lone monk was sweeping the path, but other than that, we were alone. It was nice!

Reclining Buddha

temple building

There are two temples in town along the main road, and after exploring the first for a few minutes, we walked a little further on to the next one, all the while enjoying the fresh air and comfortable breeze.

the other temple in town

This temple is built around an ancient-looking stone chedi covered in moss. I don't know any history of the temple, and there weren't any signs or information, but I have to imagine that it's pretty old.

old stone chedi

Buddha statue

After a while, it was time for lunch. Laotian food is a lot like Thai food. It's not too surprising since the two countries have a very closely-tied history. Thailand and Laos share a history, culture, language (almost), and cuisine. Lao food is especially similar to Issan (northeastern Thai) cuisine: lots of sticky rice, papaya salad, larb, and more!

lunch time

The other day, we had some delicious chicken noodles. The chicken meat was thick and juicy, and the soup was made with lots of veggies and onions.

chicken noodles

Of course, even today, the river is the center of the city. While we won't be doing any tubing (it doesn't seem safe, especially during the rainy season), we will be heading down to the river to sit by the banks and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Nam Song River