Hey again!!!

Sorry for not being in touch earlier but I simply didnt have the time to fill ye in. The days seem to be zooming past so FAST. I was saying to the group today that i cant believce we are in the last week of a 30 days trip!I have finally got to an internet cafe in Laos but im getting charged by the minute...i think its 100 kip per minute so i need to be quick!!Im in Luang Prabang at the moment, its a small town...very pittoresque! Laos is a beautiful country...its just so relaxing and the people are unbelieveably friendly here too....always smiling and greeting you without touching ya. Well, thats what i exeperienced in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi!!! That place is just SOOOO busy that it gave me such an headache. It will definiitely not be a place that i would want to visit again!!!Its so bad i cant remember what we did in Vientianne which is the capital of Laos. It says on the itenary that its a day to explore but im sure we did something!!The place I will never forget in a long time is Vang Vieng whereby I did tubing down the Mekong river...Yes, thats whats i did. You probably wont kniow what that means becos i didn't when i first heard it. The idea is you are in a rubber like dingy going down the river whereby you stop at bars laong the way. I did drink sensibly but I was terrified at points that i thought i was going to die!!OH YEAH, THIS WASNT A SMALL RIVER, IT WAS HUGE! In my group of my travelling mates, I was the ONLY one wearing a life jacket....I didn't want to risk my life!!!!As i said earlier, it was terrifying at points but it was really fun and exciting too. It will be an experience that i wont repeat again. Everbody else in my group were saying, "That was amazing!!" but i felt the complet opposite. I was so RELIEVED when we got to the end of the rive where our guest house was situatted!! Good place to be!!!It cost us 50,000 kip to rent out the rubber ring and 60,000 kip as a deposit becaise some people dont tend to bring them back to the renting place. I did the tubing on Wednesday the 23rd of September. The weather was absolutely scorching so it was just brilliant to get into the water for a swim. I also did the SWING where i screamed for ages...id say you could hear me 5 miles down the river. It takes you a couple of hours to get to the end of the river. i thought id never get there....praying that i would get there safely.

We left this morning at 9am to get to Luang Prabang. It took us a good 7-8 hours on the bus. We even saw a cycling tournament going on in Laos. That was strange to see. The route to get here was so scenic, you could look out the window for hours and still be in awe of its natural surroundings. We got off the bus the other day cos Kris (tour leader) said, its the most beautiful spot that he knows of so I had to see it.As soon as we reached this point on this small mound, it was just so spectualar the view. This natural jungle...i have never seen so many tree's.....The only thing that ruined it was hearing screaming dogs being transported onto a truck to Vietnam where dog meat is a delicacy....i know, that was horrible to hear!!!I didnt see the gogs in the truck. Kris said that they pick up stray dogs and even local dogs.

I have just visited the night market...its really lovely to see all thes lights everywhere!!Talk about buying anything you want!I bought a small travelling bag to put over my shoulders as its much safer to carry around. Just realised that now!!!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow where I will be visiting a waterfall...I cant wait for that. I need a good swim!!

Hopefully will be in touch sooner next timex