YOU'RE FIT, BUT MY GOSH DON'T YOU KNOW IT

I really enjoyed this bus trip, it was only 4 hours long, and we got to sit at the back, so had a seat either side of us free. The road was long and winding, the scenery is stunning, Laos is such a beautiful country. I just sat at the back and listened to my ipod and watched the world go past the window. I could have sat on that bus for hours.

We arrived in Vang Vieng, such a strange little town. Built purely for the tourists, nothing cultural about this place at all! it's set out in like a grid, with bars and restaurants and guest houses making up about 90% of the businesses, there were some shops, and the occasional tour operator, but mainly just places to go and get drunk. Which is just what I wanted when you're on anti biotics.

I wondered what there was to this town before the tourism boom hit Laos, I bet there was maybe a mud track and a few houses, with fishermen and farmers making up the locals.

There was quite a lot to do here, the tubing I will get to later, there were caves to explore, you could go on a elephant ride, kayaking, swimming in crystal clear waters and waterfalls. we arranged the tubing for the next day, as i would be off the drugs by then and ready to start drinking again.

We had a bit of a walk around town, where ever you go, there's always this huge mountain looming over you, it's quite spectacular. We stopped off at a bar/restaurant for something to eat, I'd been warned off spicy food by the quacks in Cambodia so I was strictly on western food, not that I had much of an apatite anyway. All the bars in Vang Vieng have TVs and DVD players, and for some reason all bar two of them are showing a season of Friends, it's quite bizarre, what's more bizarre is the amount of people who sit around in there all day and watch episodes of a 10 year old mediocre sit com.

and now on to the people who frequent this town; As i've been traveling, and most other people will testify to this I think, one of the main principles that you live by is that at no point will you look your best. You're clothes will be dirty, and you maybe have gone a few days without washing your hair, and maybe haven't showered that day, everybody does it, and it's fine. Not here. It's like a get together from a Gap advert, horrendous. Everyone is about 19, with highlighted hair and immaculately tanned, and that's just the boys. Not my kind of place at all. Never has a Streets song seemed more appropriate. I spent about an hour in the internet Café chatting on Skype, and then went to bed, tomorrow was going to be really good fun, and I wanted to be on good form.