Hey
Vang Vieng, Then & Now
Vang Vieng has changed some since we visited nearly four years ago. The open spaces have been filled in. There are more restaurants and taller guesthouses and all have their TVs on constantly so even sound waves have to jockey for space. They play music and movies and back-to-back episodes of 'Friends' -- sitting in a restaurant is a barrage on the ears with soundtracks and bass lines and laugh tracks from five different sources competing in your head. It took me 1/2 hour just to read the first line of the beverage menu one day because I couldn't concentrate. For this, Vang Vieng had gotten a rather boisterous reputation: people either Love it or Loathe it for not being 'very Laos'.
But I like Vang Vieng, even though it does have its drawbacks. I'll start with those.
For a country like Laos, whose charm lies in the rustic, quiet, slow, and even timeless way of life, the endless episodes of 'Friends' that play have the same effect as walking into a Sunday mass when everyone is praying and then, at the top of your lungs, screaming, "I want to rock and roll all night." I shouldn't blame it all on 'Friends', though (isn't it sad how our buddies are always the ones we blame?)...
'Friends' episodes are only part of the noise pollution -- everyone increases their volume to drown the others out and as much of the 'strip' (as it's called) is built with bamboo walls, there is little in the way of sound absorption. You get the noise of boat engines engaged in high speed chases, the sound of gun shots, screams, laugher and applause. The latter is not the sounds of zoned-out travelers responding to video entertainment that has seemed to suck them in and hypnotize them, but from the movie they're watching (the character in the movies, if they're not being shot, seem to be having more fun). And that's all mixed in with Jack Johnson and Bob Marley and house music.
I admit it. I watched a few movies -- there's nothing wrong with that. It's impossible to drink every night and sometimes, on the road, a little space-cadet time is nice. It's just that there's too much noise on the 'strip' to enjoy doing anything there. But, and here's the best part, it's easy to just WALK AWAY from it. Five minutes and the noise is gone... the flashing TV screens are but distant memories... and in five minutes, you are back in 'Laos' instead of 'LaLa land'.
The beauty of Vang Vieng cannot be drown out by the noise anyway. Nature dominates -- from every vantage point, there is a view of the mountains, all differing heights, all with unique silhouettes, all quiet in their majestic height and mass. The karst landscape and the swift moving Nom Song River, the wooden bridges, the clusters of trees on green fields... all of it is the way I remember it. Red dirt roads, banana trees and palms, brown rivers with children spear fishing, sparkling green paddies, bamboo fences that cast long shadows, tractors and pigs and wandering dogs, red and blue dragonflies, clouds of white butterflies, lush jungle forest. How can 'Friends' compete?
The beauty and the mellow vibe of Vang Vieng remain and that's why many people Love it. I almost didn't go because of all the chatter about the 'chatter', but I'm glad I did.
But I like Vang Vieng, even though it does have its drawbacks. I'll start with those.
For a country like Laos, whose charm lies in the rustic, quiet, slow, and even timeless way of life, the endless episodes of 'Friends' that play have the same effect as walking into a Sunday mass when everyone is praying and then, at the top of your lungs, screaming, "I want to rock and roll all night." I shouldn't blame it all on 'Friends', though (isn't it sad how our buddies are always the ones we blame?)...
'Friends' episodes are only part of the noise pollution -- everyone increases their volume to drown the others out and as much of the 'strip' (as it's called) is built with bamboo walls, there is little in the way of sound absorption. You get the noise of boat engines engaged in high speed chases, the sound of gun shots, screams, laugher and applause. The latter is not the sounds of zoned-out travelers responding to video entertainment that has seemed to suck them in and hypnotize them, but from the movie they're watching (the character in the movies, if they're not being shot, seem to be having more fun). And that's all mixed in with Jack Johnson and Bob Marley and house music.
I admit it. I watched a few movies -- there's nothing wrong with that. It's impossible to drink every night and sometimes, on the road, a little space-cadet time is nice. It's just that there's too much noise on the 'strip' to enjoy doing anything there. But, and here's the best part, it's easy to just WALK AWAY from it. Five minutes and the noise is gone... the flashing TV screens are but distant memories... and in five minutes, you are back in 'Laos' instead of 'LaLa land'.
The beauty of Vang Vieng cannot be drown out by the noise anyway. Nature dominates -- from every vantage point, there is a view of the mountains, all differing heights, all with unique silhouettes, all quiet in their majestic height and mass. The karst landscape and the swift moving Nom Song River, the wooden bridges, the clusters of trees on green fields... all of it is the way I remember it. Red dirt roads, banana trees and palms, brown rivers with children spear fishing, sparkling green paddies, bamboo fences that cast long shadows, tractors and pigs and wandering dogs, red and blue dragonflies, clouds of white butterflies, lush jungle forest. How can 'Friends' compete?
The beauty and the mellow vibe of Vang Vieng remain and that's why many people Love it. I almost didn't go because of all the chatter about the 'chatter', but I'm glad I did.
posted by Cheryn at 5:45 PM
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