Instead of opting for the standard minibus journey to Vientiane we decided to be more adventurous and 1/2 drive 1/2 kayake down the river. What could have been a really cracking day turned out to be a really low key and quite frankly quite boring day as the other people on the trip were just so quiet. After 3-4 months of travelling we are used to everyone chatting and dare I say bonding over these excursions so it was a bit of a shock to us that everyone was so quiet and actually avoiding eye contact! Very quietly we all climbed into our kayakes and rowed down the river - the guide tried to get some splashing going with the kayake in front of us but no way was that going to happen so his spashes were not received with the normal laughs and nor were they reciprocated - at that point I think the guide got the measure of the group and stopped. We paddled through a few whirpools and rapids and then stopped for lunch - a home made bbq and kebab affair all drummed up in 30 mins which was so good! As I expected everyone sat separately and quietly to eat there lunch - now don't get me wrong we had tried D had done his usual 'Hi I'm David what is your name' routine to some uncomfortable looking faces so we had made the effort. After lunch it was back in the kayakes for another hour of silent rowing until we reached a village where a pickup truck was waiting to take us on into Vientiane. At this point I asked the guide if we would be making a toilet stop at some point - he looked at me incredulously and then at the empty fields around us and told me to go behind a coconut tree. Does he have any comprehension about how small the coconut tree stumps are in comparison to my backside - give me some credit! Clearly though I was going to have to get to grips with nature so off I trogged across the fields along with a number of other people all trying to find our own private peice of scrub.

There really isn't much to say about Vientiane, David didn't like it whilst I didn't think it was too bad. It is a small capital city (about as big as Huddersfield town centre) with a strong french architectural influence.It was very odd to wander around as every second building seemed to be an embassy, the UN or a charitable organisation! We walked miles in the blistering heat whilst we were in Vientiane (seemed like a good idea at the time!) where we visited a few of its famous landmarks:

1. A wat called Stupa That Luang where we had to cross a peice of land that was being tarmacked - I was very concerned that we were going to stick to the newly laid tarmak as we dodged the steam roller

2. Patuxay - Laos' answer to the 'arc de triomphe'. Externally ir doesn't do too bad but inside it is absolutely rank.

3. Another wat which was pretty from the outside but which David couldn't face going inside (he's not a massive fan of wats - can't wait to see him at Angkor!)

One other thing to mention about Vientiane is David's hair, it was getting a little out of control to say the least, so realising that he was beginning to resemble Noel Edmonds/The Bee Gees he decided that it was time to visit the hairdresser. After the initial shock, he went for it thinning but she decided to cut it off (do hairdressers ever listen to what you want?) we now like it. See what you think I've tried to put a before and after picture together.