Vang Vieng: Tubing in Laos - update

Firstly, I'm really grateful for all the responses to the last post: good and bad. And there were some howlers. But >20,000 views & hundreds of shares on FB made my week, so thank you!

Secondly, I would like to apologise if anyone found the last entry hard to read/understand: it was a bit rushed. The only thing I'll say in my defence is that this is a blog, not an official news channel.
So a quick update now, based on the feedback and conversations I've had with tourists in the last week.

• - Tubing is back up, in a sense. The eponymous tubes are still available, but most of the central "Tubing bars" have been shut or torn down, with attempts at a curfew in place.

• - The Sulphurous waste must be coming from somewhere else other than the original cement factory in Vang Vieng and seems to be airborne pollution, as opposed to waterborne. Another factory is due to open.

• - The "helicopter count" during the crackdown varies wildly: some accounts claim up to five, whereas others swear blind that they only saw a single, government chopper. Maybe if you are in Vang Vieng and are lucky, then you might see one as well!

If you are travelling and have any doubts, check the place out and prove me wrong....the tagline for this blog is the old proverb: "Don't listen to what they say. Go see". I would, if I had the time to do so on this trip.

(Thanks to J.F. in V.V. for some of the info; appreciate you pointing them out politely)