So last time we spoke we had just arrived in vientaine, it was seven in the morning and i had cat napped for the twelve hour journey, the bus stop like every other was put in the most out of the way place, in this case nine k from town, so of course my imeadiate reaction was "lets walk, its not that far" hev's laughing faded as i approached the frongs of tuk-tuks, she was still chuckling when i returned with the bad news "its $5 to town", a sudden look of dread crosed her face "I AM NOT WALKING", we retreated back in to the bus station looking for a cheaper solution. After ten minutes of umming and arring, a local told us there was a bus to the morning market for three thousand kipp each, problem solved, we jumped on the bus and set off for town, at this point it was eight in the morning and already fourty degrees, we were dropped a k from the center of town and opted for a mini march as we knew where we were heading, the scandanavian bakery for breakie, then round the corner to a cheap but nice guest house, for the first time everything seemed to be going well, no death march, sweet.

After a fantastic cheese and ham bagel breakfast, we set off to the guesthouse (we had forgotten one thing, the guesthouse was in THE BOOK) where we had read the rooms would cost between $10-$15/ night, we asked for a room and were a little taken back when we were told the cheapest room was in fact $25, so we searched the surrounding area with no luck, so we searched a little further afield again with no luck so without knowing it or with out any warning we found ourselves on yet another, full pack, heat of the day, no water, humour sapping death march. After ONLY (everything is only in S/E aisa, a dollar a dollar ONLY a dollar) two hours we stumbled onto a guesthouse that we managed to haggle down to $12, bags dumped, water bought, humour re-enstated, we set off for a wander round the last couple of streets we hadn't seen during or recent march. Vientaine was not what we had expected from the capital, which is why we were only there two days, but we are going back. In our two days we walked to all three sites, found out the amazing looking water park is shut, watched an ice cream stall get trashed by a palm tree and was served the hottest chilli sauce with pork ribs by a lovely lady boy, other than that we were shocked at the general over charging of everything, everywhere by everyone, so we left for vang vieng.

After a bus ride on the school bus (i felt like a parent on a day trip to alton towers) full of english kids, who didn't understand how air con works, we arrived in van vieng( the home of tubing) and opted to stay in the hotel where the bus stopped, which is a first for us. We had arrived quiet late in the day so we dumped our bags and went for a wander, after only a short distance we had noticed the familar sounds of home, or at least the tv shows from home, every other bar had a set of tvs playing a series of friends, the bars either side were playing the simpsons and family guy, suddenly we felt at home, in the most touristy town we have been too (i think laos has a lot to do with that). We woke late the next day and decided that it was to late in the day to go tubing, so we settled down with a couple of fruit shakes and a pizza to watch a series of family guy. After a couple of hours we felt lazy so we set out for a walk, to a bar to drink beer eat chicken burgers and watch a series of friends, what a great day.

We were up fed and wartered early the next day to go tubing, the tuk-tuk took us ten k out of town to the "FIRST BAR" with a giant rope swing, cold beer, and loud music we sat in the sun with our first drink of the day, as we watched a local back flip off the giant swing, "see you in a minute" hev looked at me slightly puzzeled for the briefest of moments "just be carfull ok??" as i came swinging out of the trees all i could think of is "i wounder what my face looks like??, do i look scared or thrilled, because i feel both" as the swing peaked at fourty feet from the river i let go and plumeted to the river, as i climbed the ladder out of the river all i heard was "so have you got it out of you're system??" the smile let hev know she would be worring about me sereral more times that day. As we drifted down the river a couple waved at us and shouted "it us the pomes" we smiled waved and thought how very odd, it wasn't untill we had stopped at the next bar for beer number four that we remembered paxse, (the drunken night with new friends, two aussies had been asking why they called britts ,pomes, "i'm not sure to be honest" i told them "no we dont know either" they replied "pome stands for Prisoner Of Mother England, and britts are Subjects Of Mother England" i continued "so the pome's are......" breif pause from our austrailian friends "US, oh my god for all these years we thought it was you guys") we sat with our beer trying through two phases of slightly drunken memories to remember their names then with a rain man like quality hev said "chantel and daniel, yes chantel and daniel" it was one of the very few times i didn't have to ask are you sure, i knew they were chantel and daniel. We met them in the last bar on the river for a drink, where they introduced us to haily and andy, two more aussies (although andy claims to be scottish, despite his father being irish his mother being phillipino and him being brought up all over the world) they were all friendly easy going people, so we got on like a house on fire, haily and andy were done over by the river and the beer so we lost them to the lure of their beds when we got back to town, so the still standing four of us carried on in town making plans for the next day over burgers, friends and beers.

The four of us met the next day to hire motorbikes and go explore the caves and lagoons around van vieng, with the most basic of maps we set of to find fuel and some caves and well what ever there was out there. we spotted a sign that lead to cave where we were lead through to an underground lake that had tubes to float round in, we just stood and watched our guied stripp off and dive in, so i followed suit, although i had swimming trunks on not just my undies like him,the water was frezzing and my gasps and clear shortness of breath ment the girls climbed in to the rings instead of diving in, daniel watched from the banks, not having swimming gear with him. We drove from one cave system to the next each time paying an entrance fee to a local who would then give you a tourch to go explore with, we swam in a couple of small dark lakes, scrapd along miles of dark cave walls, spotted dozzens of bats, got freaked out by cave crickets and almost lost both the girls to giant cave spiders, rarely have i seen genuine fear on the faces of two people but being underground with only a torch and spiders as big as you're hand will do it. When we got surface side daniel admitted they were some of the biggest spiders he had seen outside of a zoo, i dont think it helped too much, so we agreed no more caves, we spent the next few hours compressing hev and chantels spines on dirt roads, with no suspention on the bikes they felt every lump and bump. (sorry girls) We found one of the blue lagoons, (later we discovered there are about six "blue lagoons") which was a bend in the river that had slow moving green water in it, we still went for a swimm cos there was another rope swing there. After a drink in a mung village we went back to town and met up with jason and alexais two americans that C&D had met on there travels, jason had not yet been down the river so the plan was made to meet the next morning for another day of tubing, before we said good night we were, (i say we i mean me) stopped by a drunken norwegian who wanted to crush my hand then viking finger wrestle me, truely one of the oddest thing ive experienced since we left home.

At ten we met up, paid for the tubes, and set off for another day of heart in you're mouth beer fuled fun, jason enjoyed the swings just about as much as i did, hev was reluctant to have a go after watching a girl face plant the first time we were there (the girl was fine, apart from her pride, i managed to stiffle my laughter to save further embarising her) as the day rolled on and the beer flowed a great time was being had by all, untill i missed the last step leaving a bar a battered my shin (no i wasn't drunk so sympathy is due) as i came to the surface i could hear the laughter and thought to myself "if it wasn't me i'd be laughing too." After a shared bucket and a mud wrestle hev found her self at the top of a huge water slide, the other two girls had gone first and both got good air and distance off the end of the slide, but hevs flight would have put buzz lightyear to shame (had he been a real person), she shot off the end and fell with style, the most impressive flight of the day. As we sat enjoying a beer a bucket and a bag of ice, a guy in his late fifties came flying out of the biggest swing ,with the whole bar cheering he dropped the fourty feet to the water, back on land the man had sucured himself leg end status with this one simple act. The rest of the river was a lazy beer feast very simular to the day previous, the only tarnish was loosing jason to a stomache bug near the end of the day.

We bummed around the next day with all the guys, haily and andy left for luang prabang that day as we booked tickets for the next day, C&D also booked tickets to come with us to luang prabang, we had some new travel buddies for the six hour ride of terror on board a mini bus drived by stevie wonders aisian brother, if the guy wasnt blind, he had no excuse for such a bad driving performance, he made half the bus of seasonned traveleres feel quite unwell. Once in LP we were taken to a guesthouse that didn't fit the bill, as it was the first place we had been to and it was miles out of town, so with both couples unsure we agreed to wonder into town to find some where better. This took two hours if the heat of the day with full packs, but with other people with us it was fun!( it should have been a death march but instead it was a good humoured wander in a new town with new friends) We setteled in to the same hotel as haily and andy, C&D on one side and us on the other, we are the only people in our hotel, its great, we have been round the night market severall times picking up bits and bobs here and there, bartering for everything, which is half the fun, even when you're not actually going to buy any thing, the meat on sticks are hugely popular. So we all split up in the next couple of days so we will have fun till then.

As all ways look after each other, and stay safe.

love you all

the shoe string two. xoxo