Eventually arrived in Don Det (4000 islands in South of Laos). With no electricity on the island, apart from 3 hours in the evening, we chilled in the hammocks of our huts by the river, and got creative with a little jamming session. Daddy Science (Dan) and his 3 ho's! Had dinner and some drinks and lots of craic before we headed back to the hut, and the two nannies decided to sleep in the hammocks outside. And what a sleep it was while Kate and Dan sweated like dogs inside the huts, we fell asleep out in the cool Laos air to the sweet sound of massive crickets. Thanks to the hammock Grace even got rid of her Kankles that had been swollen for the last 3 weeks after arriving in South East Asia. It's all about the Elevation!!
Next day our destination was Vientiane. Got an overnight bus where there was a massive Quadruple bed layed out at the back of the bus for Daddy Science and his 3 ho's. We couldn't sit still with the excitement. Being a personal trainer in Canada, Daddy Science thought he'd try to get the 3 ho's into shape. So there we were at the back of the bus with our legs up in the air doing abs exercises and all the locals just laughing at us. Arrived in Vientiane the next morning and chilled at a resturant. The three ho's borrowed a guitar and were jamming for a few hours and singing 'Knocking on heaven's door' with rusty voices much to the amusement of passers by. Got on yet another bus to Vang Vieng, a town famous for backpackers for its TUBING. We checked in to 'Nam Song Garden Guesthouse' run by Norwegian man Arne (father of friend of MT's) and the following day we went tubing with Daddy Science. Hired out a tube each (old tire tubes) and sat on our tube down the Nam Song River to be pulled into different bars along the riverside, music pumping and bars packed with young backpackers. The music was flying as were the buckets. We finally gave in and drank our first MOJITO bucket (and boy did we get addicted...)and some shots of free Lao Lao. With a bit of Dutch curage we jumped off the 10-15m high swings into the water, and danced our socks off to 'Do Tam' by Job 2 Do - our new favourite tune!!!
The next day the two Nialls (Kerry boys) arrived, and the 4 of us started the 'Sakura Cup' - pool tournament, which went on for 5 nights. After too many White Russians and Mojitos (each team trying to get the other team more drunk) the jelly arms weren't able for the Sakura Cup, so we went off to Bucket Bar for more buckets. Day 3 we got on our tubes again, and MT, Grace & the two Nialls headed for the river, and had round 2 of more buckets, wings and this time MUDFIGHTS. We didn't feel a year older than all the 19-20 year olds - our wrinkles covered in mud sure did help! The nannies were the queens of the mudfights. That night we met up with our lovely new Vang Vieng family - Tom, Mike, Kate (British), Flo (German), Trevor (Irish) and Matt (Aussie) for some drinks, pool and beer bongs... Made our own entertainment with creative dance moves and a 3m long straw that we used to sneak into randomers buckets from behind their back in an attempt to get a few free sips of alcohol. Grace also decided to get behind the bar to DJ for a bit, until she discovered our favourite tune was not in the collection and lost interest. In need of a bit of detox we spent the rest of the week visiting caves, lagoons and local villages, often returning to the guesthouse as drowned rats - Oh how we love the rainy season!!
As most of our new family members were starting to leave Vang Vieng we decided to spend a few days rafting and kayaking... but we were informed there were no rapids anymore, so it put a stop to that idea and we decided to follow Tom and Mike to Luang Prabang.
In Luang Prabang we also met up with MT's study pal Maarten, Sofi, Wit and Romi, from Belgium, so againg we had a nice little gang. We all headed off to the waterfall which was just wonderful. Spent the day there swimming, jamming and jumping off cliffs into the water. After a hard days relaxing it was time for dinner and drinks at a bbq restaurant. As everything in Laos shuts at 11.30 at the latest, the 4 of us (MT, Grace, Tom and Mike) headed for the Bowling Ally as it's the only place open after 12. Full of backpackers, but not somewhere you'd be heading to if you're sober - which the nannies obviously were. Our final day in Luang Prabang we did a cooking class with Tom and Mike. Pad Thai, Tom Yam soup, Curry and a Fish dish were on the menu, and once again we excelled in the kitchen! Maybe the kitchen is where we belong after all. Come and get us HUNGRY BOYS!!!!
Did some speed shopping in the night markets, practicing our terrible haggling skills before catching the bus back to Vang Vieng with our new family. ONE MORE DAY OF TUBING BABY!!! The 9 of us got on the river the next day - another session 'in the Tubing'! More swings, mud and buckets of fun! That night we met Paul and Jesus, two British guys, who'd run out of money and been stuck in Vang Vieng for 2 weeks, eating only sticky rice and leftovers at restaurants. So we invited them for a beer, and they joined the crew...and so we were 11. We left the next day and headed for Bangkok.
