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Rollin on a River

Posted on July 30, 2007

So the main reason we finally decided to go to Vang Vieng was that we’d heard from absolutely every source that one of life’s great pleasures is riding an innertube down the Nam Song river on a lazy afternoon. Being experts on water sports that involve being transported to a spot upstream and then drifting downstream on some kind of craft while drinking copious amounts of beer (Trinity River tubing, Russian River canoeing), we wanted to try out the Laos version and see how it compared.

[We wondered especially how it would measure up to the drama of Trinity where the high point was seeing a mountain lion up close and the low point was suffering 2nd degree chemical burns on our upper arms from untreated Chinese tires.]

Anyway, the process is basically the same as canoeing on the Russian River. Some guys put the tubes on the top of truck and drive you to a spot a few miles up river. You then get in the river and float down to where you started. Pretty basic and a guaranteed formula for fun as long as the weather is warm. And I have a feeling it’s always warm here.

The difference here in Laos is that about every 100 meters are little riverside bars where they serve 32oz bottles of ice cold Beer Lao for $1. And the proprietors REALLY want you to stop at their bar. If the current looks like it’s going to carry you by they will extend a very long bamboo pole for you to grasp or, if that’s not working, they’ll send their young sons or grandsons swimming out into the river to tow you in by hand. It’s quite decadent. And beer Lao, as Gregor dubbed in another post, “the best warm weather lager I’ve ever drunk,” goes down really quickly and easily when you have nothing to do for the rest of the day but float down a river on a tube.

And of course you need your beer Lao buzz to attempt the other half of the Laos tubing equation, which is the fantastical series of rope swings and zip pulleys that also line the river. Some of these things are up to 20 feet high and inspire regular joes to incredible (if inadvertent) acrobatic feats. Try watching a drunk English guy go tearing down a zip pulley at 20mph thinking the end of the line is a lot further off than it actually is. Instant backflip every time! Gregor even braved the 20 foot jump a couple of times although I had to retire after one jump off of a lower platform where I biffed pretty hard at the trough of the swing. My arms still hurt!

So the beer and the jumps were awesome, but the true pleasure of the tubing was in its essentials; the warm air, the pleasant water (not as cold as either the Trinity or the Russian Rivers), the astounding cliffs rising straight from the river to touch fluffy white clouds, and the peacefulness you feel when you are floating along with nothing else to do. I definitely found myself experiencing one of those pure joy moments that travel seems to be all about.

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