Laos!

Hello everyone

So the last week or so we have been having the Laos experience in Vientiane (capital) and currently Vang Vieng. We really enjoyed Vientiane, a very sleepy and relaxed capital, especially after Hanoi which was the complete opposite. There is no crazy traffic with constant beeping or people shouting TUK TUK every 5 secs, so if you like chilled out then this is the place! So after another experience of bed bugs.......we swiftly moved onto a guesthouse called Benacam which was amazing, if a little pricey but we felt we needed some comforts and after the long bus ride over the border.
We met up with Jordan and Rebecca (friends from home) on our 2nd night and celebrated with some vodka  and checked out the night markets which were cool and adam bought a headband, its pink and yellow but it does the job. I had a bad cold but am feeling good as new now!
We left vientiane after a few days headed for vang vieng which is home of the infamous "tubing" and party. I could only imagine what it was going to be like but it has to be done when in Laos.....apparently. We found a nice guesthouse and observed as the quiet little village turns into an 18-30's holiday destination at around 6pm when everyone gets back from the river. The next day we decided to go and have some of the action ourselves, we got a tuk tuk that took us down to the river in 10mins. We then crossed a bridge and reached the first bar there. For people that havn't been before (or possibly those that visited over 10 yrs ago) the river is surrounded on either side by makeshift bamboo bars, which sounds great BUT it is absolutely MENTAL. Hardly anyone was tubing (where one inserts themselves into a rubber tube and floats down the river) stopping at bars along the way, everyone was drinking whiskey shots and getting there tuppenny bit's out. For the sober, a little bit much to take in.....so vodka and redbull buckets all round. Although it was really chavvy and cheap, drinking with friends is always fun so we had a blast, also Bec and I had a little swim in the river which was nice. After some time our friend had a bit of an accident on stage whilst competing in a dance competition alongside adam. When i say accident.....it involves falling head first off the stage, being unconscious for several minutes and subsequently going to hospital BUT all was well and dealt with and i'm sure we will look back on the time fondly and share it with our grandchildren...;-) Apart from that hiccup it was so good to see some familiar faces (not so familiar after the accident, Jord) after it being so long since we had.
Today was an awesome day in a different way, no alcohol just plain good old fashioned sober fun. Adam and I rented bicycles and biked 7km along stony dirt track (not 100% completely fun) but arriving at a natural blue lagoon lake and jumped in - very fun. Hardly and tourists just us and local kids splashing around and jumping off rope swings then drying off in the sun.
So far Laos has been very relaxed and totally different to other places, the people seem very friendly especially off the beaten track. Next we head to Luang Prabang where we will spend a few days, another UNESCO heritage site so looking forward to that. We have decided to take the slow boat along the mekong river which takes 3 days to reach northern thailand, to add a different way of traveling.
Still having the most awesome time although its slowly starting to feel like we are coming to an end with our time here. More to see and enjoy for now.

Hope everyone is well

Amy xxxxx