I love Laos!

Spent the night in viet tani in after getting out visas at the train station, my first impressions bout Laos were mixed, stoked to b in a diff country but as the capital viet tani wasn’t that good, the vibe just wasn’t there. Loads of buildings being built but no real signature laos culture, well not yet! The tok tok drivers still always harassing you for rids even tho the town was tiny and I’m very capable of walking, o yeah n by the way, there all drug dealers! No shit, I heard of another traveller at sum point about it but didn’t believe it.

Driver; ‘tok tok?’

Me; ‘nah thanks’

Driver; ‘smoke?’

Me; ‘nah mate’

Driver; ‘opium?’

Me; ‘huh?…… Nah thanks’

Matt; ‘did he just say what I thought he said?’

Me; ‘I think so!?’

Sneaking suspicion that if you were to make a purchase they’d take you on your tuk tuk ride n just happen to drop you off at the cop shop, haha shazam! in a laos jail awesome fun! Not! Hahaha! Happened like 5 times since we’ve been there! Crazy. Spose it’s like Amsterdam only the tourists get wasted n the locals know about it n don’t go crazy with it haha!

Got a minivan trip to viet vien, over some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve seen since I’ve been here, plains of rice growing with farmers tending to it with water buffalo scattered throughout, with amazing ruggered mountains in the background! Epic! The van trip was cramped as, 3.5 hours over crazy mountain roads going fast as round blind corners, overtaking at the worst times! Haha kinda used to it now.

Viet vien is famous for ‘tubing’ an epic day where you float down a fiver with bars on the shore yelling at you do buy drinks with pumping music, water slides, rope swings, mud pits, o yeah n mix that with a few buckets of booz! I’ve been told it’s like Ibiza on water! I’ll see for myself later on today! Hehehe can’t wait.

Went out last night, so good! Biggest party town, middle of the most amazing mountains that remind me of the walls of Jerusalem in Tas. heaps of tourists and the most epic vibe, with awesome friendly locals, heaps of bars n lounge areas. Met heaps of new ppl, a bloke from Hawaii, girls ‘sisters’ from Holland, giggity! Drank n danced the night away, again! Haha Had a local Laos spirits, for the came cost as a long neck beer 10,000 kip ($1.20) we ordered a bottle to share, came out to the table in a resealed glass pepsi bottle!! Dodgy as but I’m all about recycling n the environment n stuff! haha Was rank strong but between 3 of us we shotted the lot! Haha this place is awesome!… Tubing today can’t wait!!!!!

A day to remember

OMG!!! The most scared I’ve been in my entire life!!! No joke!

Rolled into getting sorted for the tubing experience aboat mid day, bit hung over form the epic last night I had smashing buchets n dancing my ass off! Haha just can’t help myself haha. Jumped on a tuk tuk n headed to the start line getting pumped up by the randoms who were raving about it n were going for their 2^nd day in a row! Not to mention the guy who has been every day for 320 days!! Another bloke 108, Swedish chic I met 18 days, the list goes on! And I can see why!! I’m finding it really hard to put it into words! But basically the biggest rope swings I’ve ever seen + a river + alcohol + defining loud music + mud pits + body paint = AWSEOME!! Ppl say it’s like Ibiza on water! can’t remember having a better time anywhere! ….. But then!

19 hours later! 7 am! Shit! my head hurts, I’ve lost an earring, my bathroom is covered in mud, I had to smash the loch off the door to my room cause matt n jess had my key, wow what an epic day n night! Thought better go see if matt n jess r ok, I lost them at sum point in the arvo. They didn’t answer the door after me bashing on it. Got a key from reception to check if they were just passed out asleep in there! Nope not in there room! O shit where are they! Waited about for an hour, went looking in town, went o sunrise bar where they might be passed out sum where! Nope! Shit! So scared cause when I last saw them we were heaps pissed! 3 ppl this year have died doing tubing n heres me thinking it’s going to he 5!! Stressing big time, almost to the point of being sic. Sitting I my room peaking out trying not to think about it, passing time n thinking where the closest police station or hospital was!…. bout an hour n a half later, tap tap on my door! Awesome mat n jess r ok! They lost each other down the river jess was sitting on her own with a Laos bloke round a fire when she heard matt yelling help from the river! No idea how they found each other! Completely lost n no one around! And in the dark now! They ended up sleeping on some deck thing in the middle of nowhere! With a friendly as Laos fisherman! They got up n floated for an hour before getting back to town! Not before doing shots with their new found friend! I was so happy n relived they were ok! Never been so scared in my life! Totally doing it again! See how I feel in a few hours! Waster! Hahaha loving life! Small bad incident tho, matts camera is stuffed! Water n mud not such a good idea! Bummer.

i'll put more pics when matts camera dries out! oops there should be some epic ones!!!