4 May 11
Travelled south of Laos to Vang Viang! Took 6 hours by mini bus. The roads down go through the mountains and the scenery is beautiful. Although the journey is bumpy along some narrow windy roads, whilst avoiding cows and pigs roaming the roads, its quite scary at times!

Vang Viang is a strange town, and over populated with westerns!

5 May 11
Bun Bang Fai (Rocket festival). Locals make their own rockets to launch - to encourage the rain to come!
Some of the rockets were huge and impressive. Groups of locals were parading the streets singing, dancing, drinking, playing music with their rocket on board a truck or trailer!
They set the rockets off on the centre island, and it's a competition to see who's rocket gets the highest (I think).
Seeing drunk locals and Laos men dressed as women was a bizarre sight though!!

6 May 11
Well the rockets have worked - haven't seen so much rain the past 24 hours, it keeps down pouring, but at least it is still warm!!
Hired rubber tubes and went tubing down the Nam Xong river. The river was a bit quicker and fuller today due to the recent rain as normally in the dry season the river is low! Was great fun tubing down the river, tubing to bars and zip lining into the river!
Lost my camera, it went floating off the tube and is now at the bottom of the Nam Xong river!!

Last night here!!