Vang Vieng

I was a little unsure of what to expect from Vang Vieng given that it is known as party central in Indochina. It turns out I had a little love hate relationship with the place and the people it attracts. The bars that line the river, the rope swings and bikini clad women is obsene to the local Laos people and when the tuk tuk arrive in the evening full of 'tubers' they can barely walk and are commonly found in almost ever bar in the English speaking world.

My first view of the tubing experience was by kayak. i chose to do a one day caving and kayaking tour and we had a great time, although the river levels were really low making for a very slow relaxed kayak down the river. It did however mean that we could get into a 3km cave through a mountain floating on tubes with flash lights. It has been a while since this outdoorsy side of me has come out and I have to say I have missed it - so watch out everyone at home as I will be organising all sorts of adventures to explore and experience beautiful NZ :) Met some wonderful people yet again on the kayak tour who I ended up hanging out with for the evening and next day.

Booked myself in for some climbing the next day and i was sensational - this is definetly something I am going to keep up when I get home. Am also thinking about changing my plans for Thailand so I can make it to Krabie and climb.... trouble :)