Beer to Mulberries! Is Vang Vieng, Laos, Turning Around Its Boozy Reputation?

'Tubing' was a phenomenon that spun out of control, an activity that made the sleepy town of Vang Vieng, Laos, a notorious hotspot on the backpacker party scene. However, in September 2012, the bars along the infamous stretch of the Nam Song River closed. The slides and the zip wires were demolished and the drinking was stopped. With a reported 22 deaths taking place over high season last year, the Laos Government decided enough was enough. Tubing was banned. So what has happened to Vang Vieng since? Are backpackers missing Laos from their itinerary? Writer, traveller and volunteer at the SAELAO Project, Linda Stansberry discovers an interesting 'Eco-Tourism' revolution taking place in the former party town...

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Newsflash Laos! Is this the END of Tubing, Vang Vieng?

You’ve heard the rumours filtering from the Banana Pancake Trail and you don’t quite want to believe it. What’s that? Noooo! Frame and mount that ‘In the Tubing’ vest of yours... is ‘Tubing’ really over? We spoke to bar owner, Greg Haywood of Fluid Bar and the local Laos government to find out what the hell is going on? What lies in store for the future of South East Asia's most popular party spot? This is the absolute latest news, November 2012!

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Tubing! Vang Vieng, Laos: What’s all the Fuss?

Up there with the Full Moon Party in terms of a backpacking ‘rites of passage’, Tubing in Vang Vieng, (Laos) is known as the best party in South East Asia! A startling claim for a place described by the Lonely Planet just fifteen years ago as ‘far removed from the Western world.’ With backpackers flocking there in the thousands; it’s clear the excitement isn’t about to slow down soon! But can it really be as good as they all say it is? One backpacker tells his tale…

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South East Asia: Same Same But Different

The minute you arrive in South East Asia, you quickly realise that it's not quite the strange, far off, foreign land your mum thinks it is. Backpacking through this part of the world, you’ll encounter such an interesting ‘fusion’ of Eastern and Western cultures that at times you may have to stop and remind yourself where you are!

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