Luang Prabang aside, and maybe not even, Vang Vieng was the place in Laos we'd heard about most frequently, prior to arriving. And Vang Vieng tubing vests must be the most commonly worn garment we've seen on Westerners in South East Asia. You might love it or hate it, or love it and hate it, the Lonely Planet told us. Well, reservations placed to one side, we figured one has to find out about places for one's self. And I would say we liked it and loathed it.

Perhaps, had we not already been spoilt by landscapes with karst rocks rising vertically from golden rice fields, sacred caves, winding rivers and randomly grazing buffalo, in Yangshuo, Ninh Binh and Kong Lo (as would be the case, of course, had we just arrived from Thailand, or flown straight in to Laos), we might have been more taken aback by the surrounding countryside at Vang Vieng. But we had. Also, the time of year you see the rice fields makes a huge difference, as the almost unnaturally strong coloured green-golden rice plants still to be harvested are far more eye-catching, and provide far greater contrasts, than the straw coloured fields of, well, straw. And we found the latter. So it was still all very picturesque, but we liked it, not loved it.

Ignorant Western revelry, however, we loathed. In a country where the covering of arms and legs is the almost universally accepted norm, it was pointed out to us that wearing vest tops and high cut, thigh revealing shorts whilst in public is tantamount to an equivalent of walking through the streets of England in only a bikini or Speedos. Imagine, therefore, the bad feeling created by actually walking the streets in Laos wearing just a bikini, or, as I saw on our first evening, naked, in the case of an excessively drunk young guy who'd had his shorts pulled down to his ankles, and had neither the ability nor inclination to pull them back up again. The expressions I saw on the faces of locals were of shock and disgust, not amusement. I don't have too much against Westerners having a few drinks here, although Paula and I do admittedly differ on this one, but there's a difference between a few drinks and getting horrendously drunk, exposing yourself, knocking into people, loud, slurred swearing, and generally making a scene. All of which we saw, and all of which we detested. So incredibly offensive and insensitive.

We stayed in a bamboo hut on the quieter, Western side of the river that Vang Vieng town lies on, the bulk of which is situated on the East side, and went cycling for the day around the caves and small communities further to the West, keeping well away from the tubing / bar crawling masses. And it was a really nice day in a genuine, rural area. But Paula had greater feelings of guilt by association than I did, and one day in Vang Vieng was enough for her. I toyed with the idea of staying for a further day to go kayaking, but didn't, and in hindsight haven't rued that decision.

So we took a bus back to Vientiane, picked up our passports, complete with newly extended visas, turned around, and came back north again, destination Luang Prabang. On an overnight bus, so we passed through it, but didn't see Vang Vieng again!