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Soooo, where did i leave you guys. most probably somewhere in Vientiane gorging on a pastry! well, while we were there we went to a buddhist art collection (although it was bacially a small temple with some old buddhist sculptures in- not very many but beautiful nontheless) and then we thought we wouls try out the local public swimming pool as we were all suffering with the mugginess that comes with the rainy season! however, poor liz cut her foot quite badly as soon as we got in the water (by the way, the notion of 'health & saftey' is still pretty much a foriegn concept here, with a very laid back attitude to most things). The family who owned the pool were very helpful mind and rushed out to get supplies to get it all cleaned up and bandadged.
we then mosied back to our place, and decided to get a hair cut to avoid any Bob marley dreadlock situations occuring..mnd you i was dubious with the language barrier and feared that i might end up with a jar head!... 20 mins, hair trimmed & $3 later my head felt a lot lighter and i think my hair thanked me for it. (STIll cant get over how cheap it is..obviously i gave her a massive tip and she was very grateful). we were hoping to head out that evening for some more deliciuos grub but no sooner had i got back to our room (post hair cut) did the heavens open with a terrantial downpour and storm (and Englands downpours have nothing on these bad boys) soo Liz and I did the only thing we saw fit...sent the boys out to find us pizza! (and yes they succeeded, after about an hour!!-thankyou boys).
The next morning we got up early (6am) to catch the 4 hr bus to Vang Vieng, got to the local bus station and discovered that our transport was probably old enough to be my great grandparent (and the rest) and was practially falling apart- but hey , its these sorts of experiences that make it seem real (also bearing in mind that the trip cost around $2!!!). It was lovely watching the scenery change from the urban to the agricultural and lush tropical..though as it got steeper, the bus seemed to struggle more and more.....until it fianlly packed up half an hour before the end of the journey. Boy was this hot. after many words of annoyance in thai, head shaking, engine inspecting and aggitation from the passengers, it was the bus was well and truely kaput. most people managed to squeeze onto pasing tuk tuks, but being the polite enlish tourists that we are, let the locals go first assuming we would be collected soon after. meanwhile we made friends with some of the local kids and messed around with them both in hysterics- the language barrier seems t matter less with kids, as they seem to be amused by our silliness regardless.. An hour later, in the heat of the day, another local bus comes to our rescue to pick up the remaining stragglers and pile us on to their already heaving bus. Now at this point i should mention that their hot cramped busses arent only saved for people, oh no, anything and everything travels on these busses- live chikens, complete with chicks, bag upon bag of sugar/veg/fruit/bread/other, plastic furniture...you name it and its probably on there. to say the ride was comfortable would be...an overstatment, but at least we were back on the road.
We eventually arrived in Vang Vieng, some 6 hours after setting off and couldnt be happier to find our accomodation (Pans Place- Which had been recommended by fellow travellers) and finally get some lunch inside us. we had a wander and soon gathered that this is very much a 'gap yah' kind of place with boozed up 18 yr olds and many-a-bar that serves anything you want and will play all seasons of Friends- all day long. So liz and I decided to go for another massage (well they are only $2.50) and i got more than I bargained for when I thought she asked if i wanted my stomach massaged.....in fact it turned out to be a thorough chest massage and i couldnt help but giggle a little bit....particularly when my little Lao masseur said " ahh.. boodifuul"- its lucky i dont get embarressed easily (!).
After my FULL body massage we picked up the boys for some dinner and ended up staying in the 'oh la la cafe' for the rest of the rest of the evening (the $1 cocktails may have had something to do with it--do you see a pattern emerging?!) and we then managed to find our way home just in time before another mighty storm and village powercut set in. That was last night, and needless to say our good intentions of rising early and mountain biking upto the caves were replaced by a need to sleep much of the morning. So we had arranged to do a boat trip down the nong sam river....but another downpour soon changed that plan..so instead we all took our books (im reading 'The Time Travellers wife') and sat lounging in a cafe by the river for the rest of the afternoon-it was bliss.
So after all this mooching, relaxing, eating and drinking we have been doing we have vowed to make tomorrow really count...squeezing in Mountain biking and cave exploring in the morning then head back for an afternoon of Tubing...So wish me luck and i better head off to bed to prepare for this eventful day!!!
As always, I hope you are all happy and I shall let you know how the adventuring goes!
Much Love,
Little Robbo xxxxx
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