Greetings from Laos.

On Friday and Saturday I had the best 2 days I have had since being away. They were action packed days in Vang Vieng. To start the first day the 6 of us in the group hired a tuk tuk to take us to some caves. We had to take our torches so that we could explore inside. It was really wet and slippery and by the time we got back out again we were covered in mud and completely filthy. I loved it! Am starting to feel like a proper dirty traveller now. It feels so refreshing and comforting. Outside the 2nd cave there was a gorgeous river so I jumped in fully clothed. It was sooo nice. You could just float and take in the amazing scenery around you.

After we got back to the guest house I chucked on my bikini and a vest and headed off tubing! This was the coolest thing I've ever done. It was bloody mental. Basically you are given a big tractor inner ring to float along the river in. Along the river there are bars which pull you in. These bars are just mental. Everyone just gets wasted and is having a great time. There are rope swings, zip wires (obviously I stayed well clear from them!!!) and slides. We spent most of our time at this mud bar where there were mud pools, you could do tug of war in mud pits and play muddy volleyball. I was thrown in the bud baths so many times I was just covered head to toe in mud. It was so much fun though. Me and Emma made some good mates that day and we all headed down stream to the next bar. You could hardly walk because the mud was so slippery. Not to mention everyone being so drunk. If you returned your ring by 6pm (when it becomes dark) you got your whole deposit back. Yeah right, like that was going to happen. Your all having such a great time you lose track of time. Next thing you know it is pitch black and nearly all the rings have gone. We ended up having 10 of us floating down the river in just 3 rings. This little boat was coming along and we tried to get them to help us but instead they just hit us and didn't stop. I went straight off the ring and under the boat. I couldn't get out and actually thought I might drown. It was scary. Then I managed to get my head up but it was in the tire hole and it was being dragged along so I kept getting pushed under. This guy just grabbed me and pulled me away. What a hero! Haha. In the end some small Laos kid came and rescued us. It was really funny now when you look back but it is so dangerous and people die quite often from it. Don't worry Mum, we have now left that town.

The next day after nursing the hangover, me and Emma headed back to the river bars and started the tubing festivities all over again. By the end of the 2 days I had to bin 3 items of clothing and felt like I had been beaten senseless. At least this time I didn't nearly kill myself.

In the morning at 9am we had a 7 hour bus journey to Luang Prabang. This was the worst bus journey I had ever been on in my life. The whole way me and Emma just kept wanting to throw up and it felt like we were actually never going to get there. Have been here 2 nights now and to be honest we have been really lazy and not been up to much. Had the most owchest massage ever. This girl was hurting me something terrible. My whole body just aches so much at the moment. Me and Emma climbed up Phousi Hill which was a mission and enough to make us spend the rest of the day in an air conditioned internet cafe doing nothing of any interest to anyone else. But it has given me the opportunity to get my photos on here up to date.

So really that is all I have to report at the moment. Spending the next 2 days on a boat along the Mekong River heading to the Thailand boarder. Am looking forward to heading south to the islands. But it will be a very sad occasion next week as Emma heads home. Having spent 24/7 with her for 40 days it will be weird her not being around. I think the only time we ever are apart is if we are in the bathroom. I will be missing her. In fact, I think I might start getting withdrawal symptoms. We are a little team now.

Till the next time.

xx

P.S. Does anyone want me to add them onto my contact list so you get an e-mail every time I update my blog???