The 6hr minibus journey from Luang Prabang to the small town of Vang Vieng could only be described as epic. There was not a stretch of straight road more than 50m, the entire trip winded around the northern Laos misty-topped mountains. Parts of the road nearing our destination had no hard surfaces, only a tretreaous potholed mud and gravel track! That was comfy! The town of Vang Vieng is a must stop for young travelers, it lies on a flat plateau and consists of the Nam Song River, a cascade of impressive mountain range behind and TV bars. The main attraction here is an activity called 'tubing', for you who are unaware of this 'recreational sport' - it is where you take a 6k tuk tuk ride with your rented a tractor inner tube and float down the river until you return back to town. However, along the river many timber platformed bars have been set up on the banks. You are thrown out a rope or a long bamboo and pulled into the bar where you can enjoy loud music, drinking, dancing, mud volleyball, swings and zip wires into the river and to meet other tubers! You are probably thinking this is potentially dangerous? Well, yes it is, it apparently claims about 8 lives a year. It's just a case of controlling the amount of alcohol you consume!! It has to be said it is amazingly fun, despite all my cuts and bruises! After tubing you make it back to town to chill out in a TV bar. The entire town only consists of net cafes and these bars. You can choose which bar for friends, simpsons, family guy etc. They all consist of wooden decks with cusions, perfect way to wind down from the days' exhausting activities. The following day we met up with some of our Irish friends from Luang Prabang, Tarry was mad enough to go tubing for a second day in a row. I lacked in stamina for another day, so I swang in a hammock ALL DAY drinking fresh fruit shakes staring out at the mountains and slow flowing river (see photos), read half a book and shared tubing stories with other travelers! We bumped into our friend Tom from Koh Phagnan and diving course which was great. I also made good friends with a german friend Holger, whom I spent most of the day tubing with. This experience here was quite a shock in the respect of 'full of life', after the lifeless (but relaxing!) Luang Prabang. Next stop: Lao capital Vientaine.