Eventually the roads became less hilly and windy but more dusty and bumpy, we were swerving all over the road (and off it) trying to avoid the millions of potholes. After 6 angst filled hours we arrived at Vang Vieng in once piece! We said goodbye to our fellow survivors and set off to in search of a guest house.

We wandered around and checked out a few rooms before settling on a pretty little bungalow for under a fiver - bargain! So we dumped our bags and headed out to see what the place was all about. We were both anxious about being here as it is notorious for drugs and alcohol. We have read about people being given pizzas and drinks laced with some drug or other without their knowledge - and although we always try and give places the benefit of the doubt this obviously worried us!

We wandered around and we were greeted with something worse than we thought. I had visions of us sitting by the river watching people slowly float by in inner tubes (a supposed rite of passage on the South East Asia backpacking trail!) while we peacefully enjoyed the view but the river doesn't seem to be the focal point of this small town. We didn't get to see anyone tubing, and if we had it would have been downing buckets of cocktails, swinging from rope swings or sliding down death slides - not the serene images I had! Once we had learned this is what tubing was, we decided to duck out - both feeling too old, and too safety conscious to take part! The whole town is set up for tourists - we may as well have been in Blackpool with the sun! There were not many people about, and the ones that were, were sat in bars showing re-runs of friends, family guy or the Simpsons - I can watch that anywhere!

We walked back to the bungalow and weighed up our options. Do we hang around and (besides our better judgement) take part in the tubing; even though we would probably not enjoy it and feel on edge or do we head for Vientiane? After mulling it over we decided to give tubing a miss as it was never a number one priority for us (I bet no one at home has even heard of it before??) and after only allowing ourselves a short time in Laos, we feel we'd rather see more of Vientiane.

The other option that we didn't want to let ourselves think about, is that this place is awesome for a 20 year old, and there is much safe fun to be had, but that we are simply just too old for it all! In my heyday I am sure I would have been the first one jumping in a tube, downing a bucket, and sliding down a death slide before dozing off a hangover in front of friends (in fact I bet more than a few people reading this can remember me doing a few of the exact things listed above??!) but for a newly married couple with an average age of 30, it just wasn't for us!

Don't get me wrong, Vang Vieng is in an absolutely stunning setting and if we had more days in Laos we would probably spend more time here to enjoy the surroundings. After the decision was made we went back out to buy a bus ticket and have some tea.

As everywhere had pretty much the same menu we opted for Gary's Irish bar for some home style food - nothing to get excited about but it was warm and filling.

It had started raining while we were finishing dinner, a heavy shower we thought so when it slowed down we started to walk back to the bungalow. In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman 'Big mistake, HUGE mistake!'. We were suddenly caught in a massive down pour of rain so we took shelter under a closed shops veranda. The rain got heavier and faster before it started to thunder and lightning and we wondered how we would get back to the bungalow. There was suddenly a huge flash of lightning and we were submerged into darkness - I instinctively reached for Neil as it had scared me to death! A few cars in the street turned their headlights on so people could carry on about their business. Luckily a few minutes later all the lights came back on and everyone cheered.

The rain was still coming down heavy and after another few minutes there was another flash of light and the loudest crash I have ever heard - I mean seriously ever heard! I literally jumped out of my skin because it had scared me so much! Neil told me that he thought we were dead!! An experience I will never forget!

Soon enough the rain slowed down but we could still see the lightning in the distance. Deciding we had to be brave and strong (thanks Sarah and Andrew!) we sheepishly headed out into the street and made our way back to the bungalow stopping for some supplies on the way.

It feels like such a shame that this village in such a beautiful location has been tainted by the world of tourism, moneymaking and mostly drugs and alcohol. Neil and I mused what the place would have been like just a few years ago - I guess it's a blessing and a curse when a place becomes popular.

We got up, showered, packed and checked out ready to wait for our bus to Vientiane. Neil decided to go off for some breakfast while I checked my e-mails with 30 minutes until the bus. When Neil still hadn't returned when the bus was due I started to panic, but just as I was about to send out a search party he bounced happily into the waiting area with his chicken baguette unaware of the panic I was feeling!

The mini bus turned up and we squeezed in, with our big packs filling the aisles - they certainly fill all the space on the buses and make their money out of them. We set off, and even though it had rained last night the roads were still dusty making huge clouds of dust that sometimes seemed to cloud the drivers view. Despite this the drive was much less scary than yesterday!