Lovin' Laos. Again.

The trip is flying by so far - we're already on day 9! I think it's running well. I've had a few days where I've had to really wing it, and I definitely bought my entire group breakfast one morning because I thought it was included with the guesthouse and it wasn't (it was about 15 bucks, so it's not a problem - ha!) but everyone's really nice and laid back and go-with-the-flow, so they either haven't noticed or, thankfully, don't seem to care. I did have one night were I probably drank too many beers and felt awful the next day, and I was crabby and tired and not at all productive, so I think I'll keep the beer drinking with the passengers to a minimum. At least when I actually have to do things the next day. Ha!

We're in Vang Vieng now. It's a crazy little town where many a backpacker has come and not left for many, many days or even months. The "tubing" is famous (which I believe I touched on in a post during my training trip - whiplash, anyone?) and since then Gap has actually instructed us not to recommend it to our group and we are no longer allowed to tube ourselves. It's really that dangerous, and kids have recently died doing it. Beer + Mushrooms + Lao Lao + Shoddily Rigged Ziplines+ River Rocks in Shallow Water = A Really Bad Idea. Just sayin'. Anyway, a few of my group are going because, let's be honest, it's also really freaking fun, but I've made them promise not to trip on mushrooms or do the zipline.

I, on the other hand, skipped the tubing but went on a great Kayaking trip this morning! It wasn't very long - maybe 10KM? But it was so much fun. Another passenger, Anne, went with me and we had a great guide named Lam who pointed out all of the interesting things and told us all about the town beforre it was a backpacker ghetto. The countryside is breathtaking - the river butts up against massive limestone mountains which, in the summer when the fruit is ripe, are apparently full of monkeys. Can't wait for that! We also saw water buffalo literally chillin' (ha!) in the water and we were SO close! when I saw them hanging out so peacefully, I almost felt bad about eating that buffalo skewer the other day. Also, the dragonflies are fuchsia! Bright, hot pink fuchsia! Anyway, the trip was just long enough not to be too difficult (or hot), we navigated the rapids well and managed to stay in our kayak, and got back in time for lunch and a nap.

Tomorrow we leave for Laos' capital city, Vientiane. Last time I was there I was recovering from tubing, so I didn't explore much and I'm looking forward to going back and actually doing something. Of course I will keep you all posted!