WOW!!!! It's Laos!

So, I left off during my very first day in Laos. I love this country and everything about it. Our first day in Vientiene consisted of going to a forest spa and pampering ourselves. It was pouring out (it is monsoon season here) and we took a tuk-tuk to the wat (temple) where the spa was. Of course we got let out of the open air bike compartment when it was down pouring so hard and we had to run through mud and huge puddles for a good 5 minutes into the forest before we found the wooden shack where the spa was. We all got undressed and into a sarong and into the sauna we went. It was so damn hot but we were told it was good for you. We keep passing a horrible cold around so we need all the health we can get. After we felt like we were going to pass out we went outside and had some tea with the crazy young woman who runs the place. Then, we started on our massages. It was great and one of the best I have had. Laying there, listening to the forest and the rain and especially the excellent massage made the journey in the rain well worth it. We were all very relaxed after that.

The next day we took a bus to Vang Vien, where I currently reside. Our "bus" was a cramped, little mini bus that fit about 20 of us in there for 4 hours. We were so uncomfortable, but it was a short journey and the scenery was spectacular. Huge limestone mountains and bright green trees lined the street. We finally got to the little backpacker town of Vang Vien and stretched out our cramps in the legs and headed for a guesthouse. We found some bungalows that a friend had recommended and we set up camp...Literally. We have a little bamboo-type shack with a bed on the floor that 3 of us are sharing. Hey..$4.50 is a lot to spend on one room! This town is so cute. It's basically a backpacker stopover on their way to Luang Prabang, where we are heading to next. It's surrounded by beautiful mountains and our bungalows are right in the middle and next to a river. It's very relaxing. We just walked around that day and somehow met up with someone we knew in Korea. Small world!
One of the main things to do here is tubing. It's my kind of place. You can rent a tube and a tuk-tuk drops you off at a point in the river and you just float down to the end. It takes anywhere from 2-??? hours to get down. Our first day we were a little late in getting started. We needed to sleep in since we were getting up so early everyday. We didn't get into the river until 2pm and then stopped at every bar on the way. Let's just say we got about half way and had to be rescued because it was getting too dark. There are little bars on the banks and they pull you in with a bamboo stick. Most of the bars have a swing or a big jump that you can use to jump in the water. I was very risky and jumped in a few times. I personally like to lay in my tube or jump around in the water rather than jump and risk hitting a rock. The journey down the river is gorgeous. It's so green and there are so many butterflies. I'm telling you, it's very noticeable that there are large numbers of butterflies. They are everywhere!

The next day, we decided that we needed to make it down the river. So, once again we got our tubes and away we went. We didn't make the mistake of stopping at every bar...Only a few that had good jumps. This day was much more relaxing. Amy and Vickie opted for the kayaks instead of the tubes, so they just floated down the river next to us. If we had to go faster, we just held on and they paddled...Good deal! We did succeed in finishing the river after being mauled by Laosian children bathing in the river. It only took us about 6 hours this time, but we made it!

So basically, I spent the last 2 days floating down the river in a tube in Laos. This is the life! It's so great here and I wish I had more time to explore and see more. The people are amazing and are always helpful and happy. It's so much better to be in a place where people are nice and happy. Tomorrow we have biking on our agenda. We'll see how that goes. We are back to being Berthas and Ednas. We are going to bed so early again. We have now named Amy to be Fern, and Vickie to be Jackie Vera. We have a Swedish guy traveling with us and he is Harry Cecil Hellfalk. I could spell his last name how it really sounds, but you might get the drift. But, seriously, that is his last name!

To next time! Hopefully I'll be in Luang Prabang and don't get stuck in this gorgeous place. I need to see more!