After an interesting night with some Lao vagrants staying in a makeshift shack next to our room and a wafting toilet smell throughout the night we headed into town around 9am for breakie. After this we had a little walk around town then back to the balcony of the hotel to chill before tubing this arvo.

When we get back the water is off for some mysterious reason! Hey, it's lao, this stuff happens. Tubing today is the main reason we picked this trip and although it involves both alcohol and water we plan on looking after each other. The weather is beautiful and clear too, so things are looking up!

We leave the hotel around 1pm and head to the starting point in the Nam Song river. Within a 100m of the start there are several riverside bars playing music and throwing lines to get you to come into their bars! It's crazy here! A guy jumped in the water off a zip line
right near me and pulls me and my tube into a bar, against my will. He was smaller than me but bloody strong! I managed to escape and jumped back in my tube and floated down the river.

It wasn't long before temptation for a drink got us and we got pulled into a bar by rope and got our first bucket - vodka, red bull & coke. The bars are built up on the bank with bamboo and the first one had a deck you could sit or lay on in the sun.

We laid on the mats on deck, listened to the cool tunes, soaked up some sun and watched people jump into the river from a trapeze! They made it look easy! Don't worry mum & dad, I didn't trapeze and jump in but I did fall in off the steps when trying to get back on my tube! I also smashed my bottom on rock in some low water! So clumsy and it had nothing to do with alcohol!

A bucket and a free shot of whisky later we were back on the tube but not for long. We hit another bar on the opposite side of the river with more of a laid back vibe and had another bucket. This bar had a big inflatable pillow about 2x3m and people were jumping onto it and then into the river. This looked fun and harmless enough so Paap gave it a try. She jumped on, sat at the end and then two guys jumped on the other end and catapulted Paap through the air. It was possibly the most awesome and hilarious things I have ever seen! In hindsight, a little reckless, but all is well that ends well. Paap survived just a little winded!

Back on the tube again We stopped at one more bar after this and yet another bucket! Then it was starting to get dark (it's winter so it's dark by 6.30pm), time to start floating back to town. It took ages!

By the time we got there it was full dark, although we had lost Paap who was floating with some fellow travellers, and I realised just how intoxicated I really was! Things were hazy to say the least! We headed straight for food and a non alcoholic drink and watched some friends on the tv, we found out Paap had made it back safely with the others as well! Thank god! Not long after I was done so headed back to the room, hooray!

All in all it was a lot of fun and you need to definitely have your wits about you. The buckets are lethal and sneak up on you...good times! I think I only need to do it once though!

Time for bed....!