The start of a new month would be celebrated by tubing, the backpackers rite of passage here in Lao. Kratos and I headed out for breakfast early with Laura grabbing a bite to eat a bit later on. Laura had arranged to meet the Australian girl Kate we kept bumping into to join our tubing group. She should of gone with some of her friends yesterday but fell poorly at the last minute. Unfortunately she had to leave tomorrow so this was her last chance to tube, something she was stupidly excited for ...that's Australians for you.

The weather was a bit unpredictable with intermittent rain and thunder so we said we would give it until lunchtime before making a final decision. We sat in a restaurant overlooking the river and enjoyed a drink before the sun eventually came out and the day was saved. Now we just had to find Kratos who had gone AWOL and wasn't answering his door when we knocked. We eventually managed to wake him from a super deep sleep he always tends to be in and he dragged himself out full of enthusiasm... Not. So with all four companions in tow we headed down to the tubing place! Here you basically rent out the tube and the company drove you 3.5km north to the drop off point. Here you jump on your tube and float down the river stopping intermittently at bars along the way before eventually reaching town about three hours later. We acquired a beer each before departure and jumped on the tuk tuk where we met three young brits... soon enough we were on our way sipping our beers and enjoying some banter. Before long we were at the drop off point and trying to climb into our tubes whist fighting the current... we were eventually all on board and soon steadily floating down the river.

It was actually a good laugh and even Kratos was laughing throughout despite his initial criticisms. We linked up our four tubes and floated down the river taking photos and laughing before we were soon at the first bar. The bars have only recently been allowed to open. They are now under very strict regulations so there is little chance of your drink being topped up with amphetamines or the like. Here local guys throw a rope out to you and you clamber aboard the shore leaving your tube outside the bar. We wandered in and found loads of like minded tubers having fun... There was volleyball, beer pong, music, sunbathing and various other games. We ordered some beers, taking full advantage of the free shots of LaoLao spirit on offer and even grabbed a complimentary bracelet before finding a lounging area in the sunshine.

We all lounged back chatting and drinking whilst watching the volley ball antics nearby, soon it was too much of a temptation and Kratos was up and jumping all over the place with the team. I was trying desperately to photograph a butterfly that was teasing me and Steven and Kate were drinking shots. We stayed here for a good hour hanging out and relaxing before we thought we should move on. So we said our goodbyes and headed back to the waiting tubes, after a slightly harder descent onto the tubes (especially for poor Kate who was a little tipsy) we somehow all managed to get back on without any dramas and floated off down stream. We continued on racing each other and taking silly photos before a couple of Israeli guys from the bar passed us on the kayak... They let us cling on to them as they pulled us down the river and we couldn't stop laughing. It was really nice of them even if they did struggle dragging us all. We let them go and continued on before we found ourselves at another bar. This one was on the left hand side and involved climbing a ladder up from the shore. We found ourselves in what looked like a shack in someone's garden... There was a small bar area and some benches next to a very old and tatty snooker table. It some how lacked the atmosphere of the first bar and there were no free shots to ease people in.... We soon changed this though and soon enough the owner was pouring everyone multiple shots of the vile whisky. I declined after the first but Kate and Steven knocked back a couple... More fool them.

We found a space and sat down, soon joined by the English kids from the tuk tuk and a couple of Dutch guys... Then came the drinking games, We were introduced to a Dutch drinking game involving tennis strokes which is a little difficult to explain, needless to say it was fun! We continued for a while before we decided to make tracks... Time was getting on and you want to be back before dark.

As it is the end of the dry season the water level can be quite low, there are points where your bottom can bump on the rocks beneath the surface. This can make the ride a little slow and uncomfortable at times. The current was pretty good most of the way but towards the end it is quite slow so there are points where you have to paddle. In the height of season the current can take you back in under one hour which is very fast and you can see how after a bit of drink you can get into trouble.

We soon came to a bar called 'last bar' and the guys were shouting at us to come up. There was a sign outside saying we still has 2km to go back to town and we knew it was already five pm. The guys were saying we may as well come up as we will never make it (after 6pm you lose your deposit) but Steven loving a challenge (and hating to lose money) declined and paddled on... We all followed and soon we realised the last stretch was hard work. There was hardly any current for most of the 2km and so our shoulder muscles got a good workout trying to propel the tube the last 1km or so. We somehow managed to get to the end and jumped out the water before we made a sprint finish for the tubing place as time was of the essence. We manage to get back with all but five minutes to spare.

We were all freezing and starving so went and grabbed some food whilst chatting about our tubing experience which was well worth it in the end. Everyone was absolutely shattered by the evening and an early night was definitely on the cards.