The journey to Vang Vieng was fairly uneventful. Just read a bit more of my book, listened to music and gazed at the beautiful scenery to pass the 3.5 hours away. On arrival, it was dark, so very difficult to get your bearings and work out where you are. Rob and Carla from Vientiane had given me a lead on where to stay,which was helpful as it was only around the corner from where the bus dropped us off. Once I had checked into what must be the best value guesthouse room in the world ($4 with bathroom and fan) I went out to explore the town of Vang Vieng. A world away from Vientaine, this is more of the hippy backpacker town, where you walk around barefoot all over the place and lounge about on raised decks of cushions and low tables. You have to sit kind of crossed legged at 2 foot tables in the bars and restaurants, which is actually quite nice for a change. The one thing I didn't like about all of this is that there were several TV's in all the bars and restaurants playing the latest films on DVD and they are especially keen on the series 'Friends' for some reason! To some it may seem idillic, but when you look around, you just see a bunch of monged out hippies, who have been there for hours, watching the same film on loop, so stoned that they probably haven't even noticed! Actually I'm exaggerating, but you get the gist I'm sure. The following day, we booked a tubing trip down the Song River, as it's supposed to be a very relaxing day out. The lonely Planet warns of uncontrolable rapids during the wet months, but I spoke to people who had been and they told me it was really slow going and chilled. Bumped into a french girl that we'd had dinner with in Vientiane and went floating off down the River sat in our inner tubes. The pace is incredibly calming and the views are spectacular. En route they have little beer stops where you get to meet up with other fellow 'floaters' and enjoy a Beerlao and a smoke (for those that do)! About 4 hours later we got back to the finishing point after stopping at pretty much all the beer stops, feeling a little bit tiddly, but completely enlightened by the whole experience. You even get to swim through caves at one point in the river. I'm gutted that I didn't take my camera as the photo's would have been great. Found a bank that accepts Visa - there's only one - but surprise surprise the machine was bust! It was only planned to be a fleeting visit to Vang Vieng, because I'm not really into the hippy scene and I couldn't believe that I could do anything as good as the tubing here. So it's off to Luang Prabang for the next stop and, money being tight, it's the minibus again! This next journey will take approximately 5-6 hours but I believe the scenery is very nice along the way. Until next time. Stephen xxx