February 17th:
When we woke up and stepped out of the hostel, we were immediately hit with the heat. We decided to grab breakfast at a small cafe we passed the night before. They had more breakfast options on the menu with better pricing than the place we went to yesterday. We sat outside and both ordered a banana shake, which was hard not to finish in one go considering how hot and lethargic i felt. We then ordered two of the "aussie breakfast"s, these included eggs, bacon, beans and three slices of toast which only cost 20,000 each. When we polished off the plate of savoury goodness we were feeling a bit cheeky and ordered 2 pain au chocolats and 2 coffees. When the pastries arrived, they were warm and delicious, one of the best pain au chocolats i've ever eaten. The coffee was good too but because it was so hot, it didn't help with the heat situation.

We had planned to visit the swimming pool that day, which was a relief as i don't know if i could have lasted long walking around the city. The pool was easy to find and was a five minute walk from the road with our hostel. When we arrived, nothing could have possibly looked more exciting than a big pool filled with cool water. There weren't many people at the pool when we arrived, three, maybe four people altogether. We paid the 30,000kip fee for the both of us and set up camp on two wooden sun loungers, some of which had pieces of wood missing and nails sticking out of the wood. We got some drinks from the small shop where the changing rooms are and set down for some serious chilling out.

There was no music being played like there was at the swimming pool in Pai, but the atmosphere was so chilled and relaxed and we were sharing the pool with older travellers who also appreciated the peace and quiet. After sunbathing until i was wrenched in sweat, we both decided to go in. We sat at the edge of the pool dangling our legs in and Dan was to first to take the plunge and jump in. Because i hate the cold, i sort of got in waist high and then gradually lowered the rest of my body into the water. There was a wasp struggling on the surface of the pool so dan scooped him up and placed him on the side so his wings could dry out and he would be free again to fly. We swam for a while, i hadn't swam in ages so took advantage of the empty pool and did a few lengths of varied strokes. We got out again to burn up so we could cool off again in the pool, this time i jumped in surprising Dan.

At 16:00 a french swimming instructor came with a family; two boys and an older man, presumably the father. The eldest boy began warming up and stretching under the guide of his swimming teacher while he father say beside the pool contently smiling as he watched his son swim length after length. We were trying to figure out what his story was, is he a french ambassador? A french reporter? Whoever he was he had money and couldn't have been in Laos just for a holiday. The pool slowly filled with Lao people practicing their swimming and we decided to make our way back to the guesthouse for a smoke and a shower. We plan to come back here tomorrow.

As the sun slowly began to set, we strolled back to the hostel still slightly damp. We walked passed a place called "the pizza company" who were advertising "dancing shrimp pizza" which was a normal pizza but with shrimps dotting around the crust as well as in the middle. When we got back we had a shower in the communal bathrooms. Whenever i've used the shower or toilet i've always been the only one in it, which isn't bad. We rolled up after the shower and smoked whilst playing blackjack. We had a cuddle after the smoke and when i woke up the time was 20:30, s***! We quickly got up and out to find somewhere to have dinner. We decided to eating at an Indian restaurant called "Nazim Indian", we sat outside again as always. We were handed menus by a polite looking dark skinned indian man and ordered drinks, i went for a pineapple shake. For food, we ordered one chicken tokka masala, one chicken makhan wallah, two naan breads and two portions of rice. It was soooooo yummy! I'm glad i chose the chicken makhan wallah instead of getting two tikka masalas. It was very similar to the masala but had different bits of chicken than then the masala which had skewers of chicken. The bread was warm and was the perfect combination of warm, soft and crispy. With clean plates and full stomachs we asked for the bill which in total cost us just over 100,000kip which is like £7.65, bargain for all the food we had!

When we left we walked back a different way so we could pass a shop and buy sone cigarettes and snacks. I got a packet of loads of pink strawberry flavoured wafers which are addictive and dan got a box of cookies. When we got back, we read more of our book, i skyped my mum and we went to bed.