For travelers exploring SE Asia, both Vang Vieng and Vientiane are likely to be part of any itinerary going Southwards through Laos. These contrasting destinations provide very different experiences and reasons to visit, with the first having a long-lasting hedonistic reputation and the latter being the rather low-key and sleepy capital of Laos.
With only 10 weeks of traveling in SE Asia, we allocated about 3 weeks for Laos. Having already spent two days on a slow boat from the Laos border town