1 – Private Tour: the Ethnic Villages and Rice Fields of Vang Vieng

This activity is for those who want to discover the ethnic diversity of Vang Vieng, meet with local people, and learn about Lao traditions, without engaging in any particular physical activity other than walking.

Private tour, advanced reservation required

Difficulty :

This tour starts around 9 a.m. You will be picked up by an English-speaking local guide and driven to a multi-ethnic village north of Vang Vieng, 20-minute away from the hotel. There you will pay a visit to a local blacksmith and see how he continues to produce traditional tools and blades just like his ancestors used to do it.

You will also meet with a Kaen player and hear him play the instrument. The Kaen is a musical instrument of the Hmong ethnic group. It is played during ceremonial rites. During the funeral rite in particular, there is a required tradition to blow the Kaen in order to send off the spirit of the dead person.

After leaving this first village, you will be transferred to a Hmong village on the other side of the Nam Song. The Hmong ethnic group is one of the most important in the region and it has retained many of its old traditions and ways of life. You will meet a maker of traditional baskets still used by local farmers, as well as a young woman doing embroidery specific to this ethnic group.

From there, you will begin an easy one-hour walk through the rice fields, along a small canal. This part of Vang Vieng is very picturesque with a lively rural life that will delight photo enthusiasts. This will lead you to the house of a Lao Loum family where a meal will have been prepared for you. You will sit under a farm hut with fantastic rice field views. You will also discover how rice wine or “Lao Hai” is made.

After your meal, you will walk through the village and pay a visit to a sacred cave where the activity will end. You will be returned to the hotel in time to enjoy the sunset.