Vangvieng, Laos

It may have only taken a couple of hours to get here, but it seemed much longer. We had to go by minibus and the driver wouldn't leave until the whole bus was filled. Eventually we left, then we stopped so he could change his shirt, then he stopped again to take a phone call. Before we knew it, we were heading straight back to the bus station. At this point, everyone was going crazy. After waiting ages, again, we were on our way through the beautiful mountains of Laos. To be fair, it was a nice drive and at least it wasn't 33 hours like last time! And what's even better is that Charlie and Shaun came down before us and found 'Domon Guesthouse' which is right beside the river. We even managed to get a room with stunning views of the river and the limestone cliffs. The view is postcard perfect! The town is very laid back with bars playing reruns of 'Friends.' Its definitely a good place to go to recharge the old batteries! With our mission to enjoy life and live it through the simple words of 'Carpe Diem,' all three of us, plus Shaun and Charlie went out in search of a good night, and a good night we found. Unfortunately, the following morning it wasn't such a good night, as the repercussions of our actions were beginning to settle in. There's no better cure for a hangover than a whole day in bed! Coming to Laos without going 'Tubing' would be like committing an immortal sin! With that in mind, and without wanting an invitation to hell, all five of us were on our way in our little Tuk Tuk with our tubes loaded on the roof! The driver brought us directly to the first bar, where all of us enjoyed the first 'Official' drink of the day! This was at 1pm and most of the crowd were getting a bit merry. Kathrin told us afterwards that it was the first time she was happy happy by 2pm! Big cheers for the crazy Swiss girl! After a few hours there, we all got in our tubes and floated down the river to the next bar where we all danced in the rain. Some people even had fun playing in the mud. Trying to convince ourselves that we are adults and not children, all five of us refused the temptation of the mud. After enough mud and rain, it was time to get back in our little tubes and head down the river to the next and final bar. With over 20 bars back in the day to only four bars remaining. Four bars would be good, but unfortunately, only two are ever open as they alternate between them! With everyone unable to walk a straight line, bar me, the time had come for us to get back in our tubes and paddle down the river in search of our guesthouse. The good news is that all five of us made it to dry land in one piece. Some of us just didn't make it to the correct bit of land, but a bit of a walk and a Tuk Tuk sorted that problem out for us. Before we knew it, we were all reunited at long last. Just because the 'Tubing' was finished, didn't mean the party was! None of us were ready to go back, except for poor Charlie! And unfortunately, poor Charlie is right, the lovely English girl missed out on amazing Irish food at 'Gary's Irish Bar.' Who knew mammy's cooking could taste so nice! Gary who is from Kerry is only in his twenties. He came to Laos about six years ago, when the recession kicked in, to open a bar and he has been there ever since. He is definitely a smart bloke! After a few more drinks, our bellies began rumbling with hunger again and myself, Jason and Kathrin decided to be adventurous and go for a 'Happy Pizza.' Jason made sure to ask for an extra happiness! Lets just say it made us all happy and maybe it made Jason a lot happier than the rest of us! And yes, all three of us spent the following day recuperating! With content on seeing more of this lovely town and all that it has to offer, all three of us decided to take a trip down to the 'Blue Lagoon.' The road down to it was the most bumpy road I have ever been on. When we eventually got off the 'Hell Road,' the Blue Lagoon was not what we expected, but the water may have been very cold, but it was amaze-balls! It was so refreshing. People were swinging in to the water and jumping off trees. It was great fun. I don't think poor Kathrin had as much fun as us, bless her, she's Swiss you know! As a child, my lovely Mother always told me to eat properly and now its part of my religion, and there is no better place for food here than in the lovely Irish bar. Kathrin even discovered what a 'Baby Guinness' is! She couldn't understand why it was in a shot glass and not a pint glass. It baffled her strange Swiss mind. Again everyone, bless the poor Swiss girl! She's a little bit strange! But we wouldn't have her any other way! By far, one of the best things we have done so far was our adventure that bestowed us the next day. The day started off with us jumping in tubes and going through the 'Water Cave.' It was an incredible experience. Nature really is incredible. After a bit of lunch, we all visited the 'Elephant Cave' where we were all told our faith and what life may our may not have in store for us. Jason was told that he will have lots of money! I guess I better stick with him so! Poor Katarina had the exciting revelation that her life was going to change dramatically! I don't know what life has in store for me as the number that I picked (6) had no corresponding piece of paper. I hope its all good! The next stop for us was a bit of kayaking down the river. Don't worry, we all got to stop off for a nice drink. I, myself was very well behaved, unlike the other two! We even got chatting to the Irish couple that were with us. It's nice to be able to hear the Irish accent again! After only one drink, it was time to jump back in our kayaks and paddle down the river until we could paddle no more. It was a little bit harder for poor me as Kathrin kept on jumping out! To be fair, I did keep on splashing her. But, we both really enjoyed ourselves! I even found 'The Rapids' again! It was great fun going down them. Myself and Kathrin were even informed by two girls that are from Barcelona that they are not Spanish! And no, they were not blondes, but they should have been! That is definitely another quote of stupid things that people have told us so far on our travels! Would we return here? Maybe, but it definitely won't be at the top of our list! There are so many interesting, beautiful places to visit in the world with not enough time to see them all! I guess, 'The Big Adventure' continues and is not ready to retire just yet! By Andrew

#tubing #river