Tubing, caves, kayaking, and TV-Bars (most of which are replaying Friends over and over again) pretty well sums up Vang Vien. It is a cool little town that is getting ruined by its popularity. Yes, I contributed to the problem, but it's cool none the less. In short, no one in town has to worry about high blood pressure. I was not a big fan of the caving as it was one big accident waiting to happen due to the slick rocks and endless amount of mud. The tubing was good though. What could possibly be bad about sitting on a tube in cool water as you go from river side bar to another? Kayaking on the other hand absolutely blows. I paid for a kayaking trip to Vietien, Laos which was about 3-4 hours away by car. The "kayaking to Vietien" turned out to be an hour and a half in the back of a pickup truck over roads filled with pot holes, forty-five minutes in a kayak (good rapids though), an hour for lunch (darn good lunch), another forty-five minutes in a kayak, and then two hours in a PUBLIC BUS. Even though it was only for a short time, kayaking itself was the low point of the trip. The public bus however was an adventure in and of itself. So much so that it deserves its own journal entry that will come later as I feel writer's block coming on. Just another day in paradise; enjoy work everyone. 