Jaidee Bar — the name means "good heart" in Lao — is a comfortable spot on the main street that has outlasted most of the wilder establishments from Vang Vieng's notorious era. It does cocktails, Lao whisky mixers, and the inevitable buckets for those who want them, but the atmosphere is more conversation than carnage. A pool table occupies one corner and the music stops at a reasonable hour.
The bar is popular with travellers who have been out on the river or bikes all day and want somewhere uncomplicated to recount the experience. The owners run a small tour operation from the same building, so it functions as an informal information exchange: people leaving for Luang Prabang tomorrow exchange notes with people just arrived from Vientiane.