One of the most popular activities in Northern Laos, and Southeast Asia, for that matter, is to go tubing down the river outside of Vang Vieng. To those who’ve been there, this goes without saying…This has become one of the must-do’s on the backpacker circuit and is responsible for the huge party scene that has settled in the once sleepy of Vang Vieng—in a country where party scenes don’t really exist.

For many people, it’s sounds like a little too much, but most who find there way coming through the area will end up making the tube trip sooner or later. It’s hard to resist the temptation because everywhere you go you meet friends from Australia, Europe, and America who will be inviting you to take the trip with them, and next thing you know you’re sitting in an over-sized tire tube with a beerlao in you hand, floating down the river.

Even if you don’t happen to meet anyone, go on your own, and you’re likely to meet a group on the drive over or at the first bar downstream.

Book the trip at just about any of the guest houses or travel agencies, and they drive you a ways up the river and then drop you off. Then you and your group kick back and float downstream, relaxing and taking in the beautiful Laos mountain ranges, which are in no way to be underestimated.

You’re probably thinking you’ve gone tubing back home with your buddies—no big deal, right?

Wrong. You’ve never been tubing like this. This is the kind of views that inspire legends—other-worldly limestone karsts looming over the river and caves to explore along the way. Sit back in and breathe, relax, and enjoy the natural splendor…because it’s going to get a little crazy downstream…

The Laos have catered to the booming tourist scene by setting up bamboo bars all along the river, and the tubers pull up and buy large bottles of Beer Laos and Whiskey buckets before heading on. The whole way down the river is one big party, with people playing volleyball or hanging out listening to music. As in most bars in Northern Laos, there are even free shots of whiskey laos, a clear alcohol that tastes dirty enough to make even the most rugged Texas cowboy wince.

To add to the excitement, and stupidity, of the care-free river mission, rope swings have been set up all along the river in various deep swimming holes so the drunken backpackers can try all their favorite daredevil stumps. All the swings and zip-lines have their own names and if you spend time in the bar they let you use it as much as you want.

The danger begins when young travelers get it in their head that they need to have a drink at every single bar on the way down the river. Be careful though, because plenty of drunken tubers suffer broken bones and even death in the river trip every year. There’s just something about alcohol and water that doesn’t mix. In the wet season, the river can get a bit daring as well; it moves a lot faster and can develop some pretty nasty currents.

Not to mention the hospitals in Laos are nothing like the hospital in Thailand, and the drive out of the country takes 12 hours by van over the most wicked roads I’ve ever been on in my life—and I grew up in the redwood-covered mountains of rugged Northern California.

I met a guy out there whose girlfriend broke her leg falling off a platform at the bar, and she had to take such a trip. He said she was hollering the whole way. Ironically enough, they had gone tubing about four times in two days and not been hurt at all.

For the locals, all the excitement has become quite a peculiarity. Bikini-clad tourists march up the main street carrying their tubes, drunk as can be. Be careful when you get out of the water if a teenager or small boy shows up and offers to collect your tube for you. This is a scam. You’ll get back to the tubing agency and they’ll charge you for losing the tube.

Vang Vieng is a different kind of place all its own, and to truly understand it you have to go there. Some people love it,some people hate it, but most agree that the river mission is nothing short of a blast. And the drunken friends you meet will be the sort that last a lifetime.