hey guys, i've just spent the last 6 days in vang vieng chilling on a river and getting wasted, so here goes: i arrived here in the afternoon, about 2 or 3pm and bumped into james, the guy from leeds, and a dutch couple. we hired little moto's and drove outside the town. if you didn't already know dragon flies taste bloody horrible! we managed to drive through a huge pack of them and i managed to catch one in the mouth at about 80km/h and then nearly crash the bike because i was trying spit the b****** out!!! we spent the rest of the night drinking and listening to 'ace of base'!! the next day we went tubeing down the river. what a great way to spend a day!! you met loads of people and they are all out on the piss, stopping at every bar on the way down the river. at one bar you get given free shots of this whiskey crap they call 'lao lao' and it tastes like vomit. pretty much everyone had a shot, but when james had his he put his hand straight over his mouth and threw-up sprying the 2 guys sat either side of him, one got it on his shorts and the other got it in his hair! i wish i took my camera just for james's face. he had sich in his hair, up his cheek and even in his eye brows!! bloody horrible!! the next bar down the river was a really cool place, it had music and a very, very big swing. i went on it twice, scared the s*** out of me!! the next bar has a big jump, another very scary moment when you've just drank 7 big bottels of beer and your throwing yourself off a jump not knowing weather your going to be able to hold onto your stomach let alone swim against the current of the river to get back to your tube! the night was a blur, i was absolutely s*** faced after the river so the drinking after didn't do me any favours atall!! i woke up feeling rougher than a badgers ass! but i bump into a scottish guy i met on the river the day before and he asked if i wanted to go down again, me not wanting to be rude said yes. 1 o'clock it starts all over again but this time i take my camera (you can see the pictures on the site) and it was great. got some great pictures of the jump at the end bar and me on the big swing, the b******s on my go tied the rope which you pull to start the swing and when i was really high and s***ting myself they tied it around a tree and kept me up there for ages. again, absolutely trashed by the end of it. had a cool night, met up with loads of people from the river and found a bar which stays open till 2am. i'm glad i took the camera because other wise i wouldn't have rememberd a thing! next day was much the same, bumped into neil, the scottish guy and sly, the american and 3 dutch girls from the night before, we set off down the river again! this day was the best day. so many people were doing it and it was just such a good laugh. i actually got so drunk i slipped over twice on the way to the water, everyone had a good old laugh at me and i now have fresh bumps and cuts to prove it!! this night was even more of a blur. i was so smashed that i missed a tank which came through the town at night, i can't even remember this soldier with a big bloody rifle telling us all to go back to our hotels because the bar had shut! next day again it was off to the river for the final time, i know it sounds like i was going down the river rather alot but it was such a good laugh and what better way to spend a day! this time was alot more relaxed because we were all feeling like s***e. even though it was more relaxed i was still s*** faced by the time we reached the swing bar! that night we all went out because it was neil, sly and the dutch girls last night. we decided to stick to the winning formula which had seved us so well the last few days, get drunk on the river, go for an indian, get more drunk in the bar next door and then when that shuts at 12 head down to the bar on the river! cracking night! i even saw the sunrise and then it was time for bed! i woke up at 3:30pm and did nothing other than hang my ass off and watch friends and films. and today it's been a bit of a wash out so the most eventfull thing i did today was book my bus ticket out of here for tommorow for vien tien. i can really see why so many people out here love laos so much. it's just one of the best places i've been so far! speak to you all soon. christopher.