Located halfway between Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Wangway has long been a kind of pit-stop of Laos. Surrounded by magnificent karst landscapes and with a bunch of interesting events, shopping shops and cafes, Wangway is not one or two hours, and many tired travelers stay here on a little longer period than planned initially.
Until recently, Wangway was not a special such city, where tourists were purposefully driving. Sick up a large pizza and drain the Lao Lao bucket (rice whiskey) for watching the endless episodes of "friends" - that's all that here it was possible to do, remaining on the day or another. But now everything is different. Control services that follow the work of illegal bars lining the river bank more than once stumbled upon a violation of work in these, so they were planted (it was in 2012), especially that drunken tourists sought to enjoy not alcohol drinks, but wonderful natural The beauties of this area.
For those who loved to drink and hang in the bar, it used to be joy to stay in Wangway for several nights and even for a few weeks - such a long stop during the journey in Laos. While for all other Wangway was definitely a point exclusively for one night. Not that Wagweng would have been some kind of Tusov city, by no means.
But, more than five or six years ago, the tourists who arrived in the city could see the crowds of the red guests, who after 8 or 9 pm massively shuffled from hotels in Bars, where more depressive locals without stopping were poured to them and whiskey in glasses, and then With longing watched, as closer to midnight, the expensive guests are lying around in the middle of the roads, creating obstacles to movement, how they scream incomprehensible words and fight with each other.
Most tourists in Wangway were British, and these comrades know how to drink and have fun, it certainly. Moreover, cheap drugs went in those in the city. They are now available to tourists, and even small children, but it is very unsafe. Of course, there are not many stories when tourists are arrested for this business and are generally found, but still. (I'm Google Wangweang - and the first will climb "Vang Vieng Drugs", ejects!). That is, the reputation of the city was just a terrible one - yes that the sin to thaw, it was also called "Truly Ghastly" ("truly terrible"). In addition, tourists did not shy here to litter and spoil beautiful landscapes, what are the fucks!
There were serious concerns that the city is about to confuse all his charm, as it was critical of tourists, drugs and alcohol. Someone wrote, "if the teenagers had ruled the world, then the world would look like Wangway." Safety measures for pokatushek on a favorite bun (tubing) were "non-existing", and because of this mixture of the lack of control and terrible drinking, many tourists drowned. They write that only in 2011 22 tourists drowned in the river. Well, you imagine?
But today, the opposite is the opposite. People who are interested in night vigils and cheerful bars, becomes quite boring here in a couple of days, and they leave to the search for more busy corners. For everyone else, the true beauty of the district was valuable, so, today Wangway is a calm and peaceful, very beautiful city with really a truly pleasant atmosphere. Everything has changed very much for the last five-year plan, and this is surprised to celebrate all tourists who, just the same, were lying on the roads after rice whiskers.
Lao National Tourist Organization Conducts "Educational Programs" here and ask for tourists to "respect and strictly follow the rules, provisions, traditions and culture of the Lao People", while at the same time local residents are asked to support the identity of the Lao Uklade of Life, Tradition and protect cultural values, and not Imitate jungle tourists.
It is worth noting that in Wangway there are a lot of gesthouses (some of which can be booked online), restaurants and shops. Almost every counter or shop on the main streets of this small, but the rapidly developing city takes away from tourists dollars, which is very convenient. But, if you are looking for a place in Laos, where you would enjoy the genuine Lao culture, Wangweang is not exactly the place.
Reason for the popularity of this tourist Mecca today is the magnificent river to us Song (Nam Song River) and beautiful karst mountains along the shores of this river. The impressive limestone structures are steepy rising from the ground and stretched for many kilometers, framing rice fields and a lazy river. Although stunning at any time of the day, the mountains of these are especially beautiful in the pink-gold shiny of the sunset, which illuminates the cliffs of the back - this is the best time to drink and sit in one of the many coastal restaurants.
If you want some kind of action and adventure, take a trip to the caves, go around the trekking (hiking, beam), kayaking and rafting. Well, for ultra-adventure, climbing is offered. Again, we look through the weather: during the rainy season, there may be a number of thresholds on the river.
All this can be organized in numerous local agencies. If you want to relax and enjoy the landscape of Wangway, rent a boat or the same tubing and swim down the song that bathes in the beauty of the countryside - this is the most affordable and not very extreme entertainment today in this town.
Like this. And the city, by the way, is very old, because I founded it a year in 1353! But nothing special in the city has not already occurred until the 60s of the last century, when the United States has developed and built here the database of the Air Force and the runway, which was used by Air America. And a little later, just that the city became famous for the fact that these most drinking backeters and adventurers began to be tightened here.
So, this place is not a "untouched corner" of Laos, no. But beso, outside the city you will find a "peaceful" version of Laos, the corners of calm and harmony with nature - in general, what the soul requires after the labor months on our harsh homeland.
Summing up the above, we come to the conclusion that Wangway has retrained from Wangway Laboratory-Bar in Wangweang Eco-Tourist.
