Home » Laos » 'Friends', Row-men, Countryfolk

I know, it's an awful title. Another very long one - but I guess you're used to this with me by now. I was contemplating making a new entry just for the hill-tribe trek, but thought I'd add it to this blog, hence the length. I've sort of drowned you in photos this time too. Everyone seems to like these blog photos, and with connections quite good out here, I'm sure you don't mind a little photo-drowning. Think of them as a gift for reading my blog. Of course, you could just scroll down and ignore the blog, but I know you wouldn't do that...would you? :)

'Friends', Row-men, Countryfolk

Simon Wadsworth
2006-09-04 15:21:34

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rock or branch, having a bum massage going over some rapids, or stopping for cold Beer Lao at one of the many bamboo-structured bars at the riverside, playing (yes, you guessed it) Bob Marley. All the bars try to entice you in by the regular chants of 'Beer Lao', and if you happen to float too close by not doing enough penguin strokes, they pull you in with big bamboo poles. It's understandable why many come and not want to leave - for $3 and just $1 more for every cold, good quality beer, it can be addictive. It took us 5 hours to float back to town, burning in the sun as only stubborn Europeans know how, and being helped along in the final hour by some local kids and hitching a lift on the back of some kayaks. I believe David used the word 'languid' to describe the day.

The previous day to this, I also travelled down the same river, but kayaking instead as part of a day tour to some nearby caves. This time there were 10 of us, but I mostly stayed in the company of a middle-aged Canadian called Alan, and a mid-20s dutch girl called Agnes. Again, it was another genius concept, probably generated round a table full of Beer Lao and 'Happy Pizza' (which, by the way, is everywhere in Vang Vieng) - one sits in a tube and pulls themselves into the cave by a rope, before proceeding to penguin paddle 300m deeper and deeper in. After 2 days, I can proudly say I've tried and tested a number of penguin-paddling techniques: front, back, forwards, backwards, using flipflops as paddles etc - it's quite a skill I can assure you. We all had torches attached to our heads, but in true safety-conscious fashion of Asian tour companies, half of them stopped working once at the furthest and darkest point in the cave, including mine. Great. However, we stayed in for over an hour, exploring the large, long caverns and still made it out unscathed, before spending the rest of the day rowing down-river.

I've often heard ...