Day 88 (Friday 11th) - To Vang Vieng!
Had a bit of a disaster with the bus today; as I said, we missed the travel agent yesterday, so I didn't have a ticket and they didn't know where to pick up Jim from. Rob said he'd tell the guy where to come and get us, but apparently the guy wasn't up for this and nearly left without us, and only after an hour and a half of arguing did Joel persuade the guy to come back and get us, just as Jim and I were about to get a Tuk-tuk to the bus station. Phew. It was a long journey, in a tiny bus, and somewhat exhausting. We had a minor breakdown along the way as well, but everyone was too knackered and lethargic to mind too much. We arrived in Vang Vieng and found a hotel with a 4th floor roof, the highest in town, from which we watched sunset. We saw mysterious clouds in the distance, merging into one another, which we later discovered were bats coming out of nearby caves in the mountains, although it took ages for anyone to mention it in case it was a figment of one of our imaginations. We went to one of the Family guy bars (very odd phenomenon, all the bars here show non-stop Friends/Simpsons/etc.), followed by drinks at our rooftop bar.
Day 89 (Saturday 12th) - Tubing!
Today we went tubing - this involves drifting down the river from bar to bar in an inner tube, occasionally partaking in ziplines and giant rope swings into the water. It is INCREDIBLE. There are people with bamboo and bottles on a string literally fishing for customers, loads of really tanned, fit girls (and guys) all over the place, drinking and laughing. We left town at noon, went to the Organic Farm drop off point, and hopped out of the river at the first bar. The cruising down the river in the sun was nice, David and I did a tandem swing from one of the rope swings, twice. The gay shirt (see pictures) came into force for anyone who lost any challenge (I lost the breath-holding one). We got dragged the last 300ish m by some eager kids (mine was called Joe) who had caught some fish and were now acting as tiny river guides. we were exhausted upon our return, and could only just manage to slump in front of a screen in one of the bars.
Day 90 (Sunday 13th) - Bikes and Caves
We hired some bikes early, went north to cave, was quite nice, full of stalactites. then got lost a bit, kid directed us to his caves and told us we could swim. After a lengthy walk, with crappy torches, we reached a river, where he told us to swim 600m. Rob and I did it, it was absolutely dark and terrifying. we went round the corner for a while, maybe 600m, before giving up and turning back. It was really cool though, loads of weird rock formations (seemingly endless limestone steps for example), then we came back to the entrance eventually to find Jim had had his petrol stolen. We came back to town to find Chris, Katie and Emily sitting on our roof with a load of new arrivals. Rude. It's dinner time now, the swimming was tiring, and I sliced my feet up a fair bit along the way (much more than I realised at the time, actually).
Day 91 (Monday 14th) - Tubing Again!
We did far fewer swings this time, only a flying fox for me, although I got a bit too drunk and consequently can't remember a few things, like sharing the swing with Dave. The river seemed quieter this time, we didn't meet nearly as many people this time around. Also we started a lot earlier, 11ish I think, and made it back just before sunset. Along the way Rob and I played some awesome ping pong, while Dave and Joel played Volleyball. It was a pretty knackering day, I think we were in bed before 10. We are hardcore.
Day 92 (Tuesday 15th) - Private Beach
I went out biking solo today, out past the cement plant (which had big signs saying "no photo!" for a km around it) and quarry. I found a deserted bit of river with a beach(ish) and sat and read my book for a few hours. came back and bumped into Rob and Dave who'd been tubing, and got talking to a load of Aussie and Canadian girls, who were really awesome, although my chances were somewhat ruined by some boorish Aussies. At the end of the night, after an after hours bar, I was walking out of the bar and I completely missed the bridge, and ended up falling straight into a large ditch, cutting my foot again, and busting up my knees and side, rendering me entirely winded and useless.
Day 93 (Wednesday 16th) - Kayaking, Injuries & Walking Sticks
I got up, still drunk, did some very bad packing, and left Jim in the room. We got in a little Tuk-tuk van, drove an hour and a half (I felt so bad) and got off for a bit of a kayak. I shared with Dave, it was good fun, got a bit sunburnt but the worst thing was that Dave jumped off a rock into the rapids, aiming to swim down, but he slipped and ended up cutting open the skin under his chin, which resulted in heavy bleeding and an intricate and hilarious bandage. The rest of the journey passed without any further mishaps, and ended in us all sitting exhausted in the Tuk-tuk all the way to Vientiane. I have had to adopt a walking stick as the cuts on my foot hurt too much to walk normally with my bag on. We just went to the international clinic to get Dave some stitches (only $25, bargain) and I opted against getting any treatment, I think if I just keep it clean and dry it'll be fine in a day or two. If not, I'll go to a doctor in Bangkok, where I'll be for a few days. In fact, we may be leaving as soon as tomorrow, getting the overnight train all the way. I also seem to have lost a day along the way here, which is rather annoying. The rest of our evening passed uneventfully, we just ended up in bed watching 'Let's go to Prison', a quite appalling and bizarre comedy. Dave has promised to get up early and go and book our train tickets to Bangkok in the morning. Our Hero.
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