Every single cafe/restaurant/bar in Vang Vieng plays friends episodes constantly from 7am to Midnight. slightly odd...

after a few days in this alcohol fuelled crazy place you soon realise why... Hung over viewing doesnt come easier than a s*** episode of friends while lounging around drinking fruit shakes and eating chips. And spring rolls. And Calamarie. And Pancakes.

I may try something they call a 'Fanta.'

Vang Vien is set up mainly for the tubing, which is where tourists literally take their lives into their own hands and hire rubber rings to travel down the Nam Song river while attempting to stop at the various bars either side of the river banks... (more accurately, being dragged in by bottles attached by long ropes being thrown at your head by all the desperate barmen.)

The real risk is avoiding the huge rocks and rapids while being pulled by huge currants. My leg failed in this task and now i have an awesome Laos scar to tell the tale.

People literally throwing themselves from rope swings and flying through the air all over the place. People die everyday.

saying all that, the tubing experience was brilliant fun and the third visit to, "Nazim Indian curry house," (this one while slightly drunk)capped off an awesome day.

Apart from the tubing, Vang Vien is a beutiful place with low clouds hovering over lush green hills that spring up out of the road everywhere while blue lagoons and the inevitable waterfalls appear in openings of deep jungle terrain.

We made the most of this by renting bicylces and cycling all over Vang Vien. We probably covered about 15 miles and spent a huge amount of time saying, "Wow, look at that!!!"

......and "My bum is sore."

We are heading to Lang Prabang next, which will be our last stop before heading to Vietnam. The roads in Laos are just terrible and we know we are in for a 8 hour treat!!!

Baguetes wont make us fat,

tubing, watching friends and eating french fries will make us fat.....

Peace and lost flip flops while tubing

Nic and Katie xxx