Laos: Sex, drugs and inner tubes
As Laos opens to tourists, some fear it may be losing its soul. Others are merely losing their bikinis.
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By Jonathan Adams
Published: January 18, 2010 08:05 ET in Asia
Published: January 18, 2010 08:05 ET in Asia
Laos is increasingly opening up for tourists — the number of tourist arrivals tripled in 10 years — but many fear the country is compromising its traditional ways and unmarred natural beauty as a result. Here, a man pulls his boat through floodwaters for a sightseeing tour at the Xiengkuane Buddha Park, about 16 miles east of Laos' capital Vientiane, Aug. 16, 2008. (Reuters) 
VANG VIENG, Laos — Drunk Brits leer at passing female tourists. A Western tourist gets in a public shouting match with her guide.
And stoned backpackers lounge gape-mouthed in cafes, eyes glued to televisions playing looping reruns of "Friends" and "Family Guy."
Welcome to Vang Vieng, one of Laos' premier tourist destinations. Just don't call it "unspoiled."
As this Southeast Asian country opens its doors to tourism, it's facing a classic conundrum. The poor, underdeveloped country desperately wants to earn tourist dollars. But it also wants to preserve its conservative, traditional ways. Doing both may be impossible.
"It's hard to keep the balance between development and the preservation of tradition and local culture," said Thavipheth Oula, an official at the Lao National Tourism Administration, in an email. "The issue is how we can keep Lao identity while the number of tourist arrivals increases."
In the 1960s, America waged a "secret war" here against the Pathet Lao communists. Now, the country that once crawled with spooks has been invaded by tourists.
Annual tourist arrivals have tripled in 10 years, from half a million in 1998 to 1.7 million in 2008, according to numbers from Laos' tourism authority. Tourism now brings in $275 million in annual revenue, up from $80 million in 1998, making it Laos' second biggest money-maker after mining.
The key draws are the capital, Vientiane, and the temple-studded World Heritage Site, Luang Prabang. The latter's development is regulated — for example, with strict building codes. Well-preserved wats crowd up against hip, new French-Lao fusion restaurants and bars.
But Vang Vieng has no such restrictions. Instead, it's carved out a niche as a mandatory stop on the backpacker trail through Southeast Asia. And it caters to 20-something hedonists with scores of cafes, bars and riverside debauchery, making it something of a "lost city of sin" in the heart of Laos.
Vang Vieng's natural beauty is breathtaking: It sits on the Nam Song River amid jagged karst mountains.
The obligatory activity here is inner-tubing down the river. Tourists crowd onto trucks that drive them to a spot upriver from the city. By the launch site, hordes of shirtless and bikini-clad Western tourists gyrate to deafening techno music, as others hurtle into the river from rickety wooden platforms three stories high. As these two YouTube videos illustrate, it's like the underground party scene from a "Matrix" movie.
Enterprising locals have built riverside bars hawking the national pride, "Beerlao," and jerry-rigged flywires over the river. Lao touts tempt passing inner-tubers by throwing lines at them; if you're thirsty you just grab on and they pull you in.
Such attractions are a big draw for younger tourists, in particular. But they have some wondering whether Vang Vieng has lost its soul.
"Each time a young Australian woman strolls down the street in a bikini, a bearded American smokes a joint on a guesthouse terrace, or a group of Koreans tumbles drunkenly out of a restaurant, it saps a little more of the essence of a town like Vang Vieng," said Brett Dakin, the author of "Another Quiet American," a chronicle of two years in Laos working for the tourist authority.
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I visited Vang Vieng in 2000,
I visited Vang Vieng in 2000, and it was already an awful place to visit. Long-stay backpackers from the north of England hyping trance and drum and bass parties on huge PA systems, as villagers walked home from the fields. Kids getting shitfaced mid-day, shouting across the streets to partiers from the night before. Opium and weed everywhere, as well as sprouting dreadlocks, new tattoos, and a nascent understanding of Southeast Asian culture.
But that's really the point, I think. VV doesn't have the historical gravity of Luang Prabang, or the variety of Vientiane. It's just a village, with a river running through it and some karst mountains, and so there really isn't that much to protect, save your illusory 'way of life.' Take away the spring break vibe and it's just another pretty village without viable industry, save rice farming. I doubt the locals want all those kids to disappear, to be honest. And if they want things to return to normal, putting up a few miles outside of VV will do.
I somewhat agree with your
I somewhat agree with your post. I completely agree that the locals, although perhaps tired or confused by the falang tourists, would dread at the thought of them being no more. But you can't portray every person that goes to Vang Vieng, with or without dreadlocks, as some cracked out hippy glued to Friends episodes. It's way too stereotypical. Who wouldn't enjoy floating down a beautiful river in a tube? It doesn't mean you have to get loaded; I just floated down the river until the last bar, had a peaceful beer, then floated to the end. No problems! Also, the scenery and mountains around Vang Vieng, particularly heading North towards Luang Prabang, are amongst the best in Laos. Rent a motorbike and drive perhaps 25 km or more North; you will never regret it. I had to do it twice! I would highly recommend going to Vang Vieng, not in the least because it's a perfect stopping point between Vientiane and Luang Prabang with very reasonable guesthouse rates and incredible scenery. And don't worry, there are lots of restaurants, although none in V. Vieng are amazing, that play music, not Friends and Family guy! Stay only a few days if you please, but it's better to see it with your eyes I believe.
As very-westernised and at
As very-westernised and at the same time very Lao as I am, sometimes I find it hard to keep the balance. However, I have the same hope as the Lao authority in creating awareness programs for tourists and locals. Such programs will ask tourists to at least have some respect and cultural sensitivity toward the host country if not strictly or totally follow the rules, regulations, tradition and cultures of the lao people. At the same time, local people should maintain the Lao identity, way of life, tradition and culture and not imitate negative tourist behavior.
"For Dakin, a little sensitivity could go a long way. There are some basics in Laos: dress conservatively (that means no bikinis and shirtless-ness in public, a suggestion posted clearly in English throughout Vang Vieng). Take off your shoes before entering temples or houses.
"It's not hard to travel responsibly in Laos, it just requires a little thought,(some respect and cultural sensitivity), and perhaps above all the ability to empathize,said Dakin. Would you want your visitors acting this way in your hometown?" I guess not.
More importantly, revealing your body in public will get you in trouble as it will attract a wrong attention. Being loud and obnoxious in public will also make you lose your face or even get you in trouble as people will look down on you or even hurt you and that's not just in Laos - the same rules apply everywhere in the world. Worse if you do that in the Islamic world. As female foreigners visiting Laos you do not have to wear Lao skirt but if you are in Iran or some other Arab countries you will be required to wear a long coat over your regular clothes and are required to cover your heads with a scarf in public. In Laos you do not have to do like Laotians do (but please show some respect and sensitivity to local culture) but if you are in Iran you are required to do like the Iranians do as I mentioned above.