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Published: February 12th 2008
Dumb and Dumber hit the open road!
Luckily we are wearing our flying goggles! LOL!Bounbouie means 'fat' but as our lovely guesthouse Ong tells us we are 'bounbouie but beautiful'.... LOL.. and so another day dawns in Laos!
Caves, Cement Mattresses & A Whole Load of Fun
We decided to have a chilled out day and do tubing the following day, so we packed our bags and headed to Babylon Guesthouse for the next two nights. A room wasnt ready so we dumped our bags and headed upstairs for our free internet (a perk of being a guest here!)... after catching up with some email we decided to hire a motorbike and head out into the countryside to explore some caves! The ride out to the first cave was hilarious.. we were riding out amongst some rice paddy fields and there were these little speed bumps along the trail.. on one we almost stacked it and it took all of my strength to hold my bladder shut!!! LOL...
Our first cave had a little boy who decided to be our guide (and subsequently I felt I just HAD to tip him at the end!). On the way up Rinna was trying to take some video footage of me and fell
off the side of the walkway... so funny... I almost wet myself again!! Once up to the cave there were some spectacular views back to Vang Vieng... we got into the dark area of the cave (about 50 meters in) and I suddenly panicked... there was no way I could go any further.. I left and Rinna continued on like the trooper she is!
Our second cave was much more picturesque.... we stopped at a little cafe at the bottom of the cave for lunch and we had a chicken red curry, chicken basil and 2 fruit shakes for less than $3! Afterwards we headed up the steep climb to the top in search of the cave... the cave was very beautiful and we went in until it became dark.. I made the decision to not go further but again Rinna headed into the darkness for further investigation.. she wasnt gone long and she reappeared.... not being able to work out which way to go...
By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain we needed a beer... we sat beside a gorgeous lagoon and had a Beer Lao before heading off back to Vang Vieng...
afterwards we caught up on some email then had dinner at the guesthouse .. an early night was needed in preparation for tubing the following morning!
Our Guesthouse
We were shown our room when we got back from our day out and couldnt believe our eyes.... it is the size of a shoebox and has no hot water and the mattress is harder than a tile floor.... all we can do at this point is laugh.. it is only $9 per night so cannot complain too much... but oh my god we need a decent nights sleep!! LOL!
A Drunken Day of Tubing
We awoke yesterday morning to the COLDEST day so far, looked at each other and groaned... great the last day here, the day we HAVE to do our tubing and its like winter!! We decided to brave it anyway and so off we set to the Tubing Office... we paid $4.50 each for our tube and another $2 for a dry pack and then were piled into the back of a tuktuk with 8 others to head upstream on the river....
Surprisingly the water was not too bad
and so in we jumped.... what an absolutley hilarious thing to do... We were holding hands so we wouldnt lose each other and didnt seem to be moving to fast ... I had my Havianas and were using them as a paddle on my side... Rinna was just sitting there saying she couldnt reach the water with her arms... how convenient! We got pulled into the first bar only 100 meters downstream, where the crazy man running the bar decided we all needed free shots of the local Lao Whiskey (he reminded us of that crazy man in 50 First Dates!! LOL) ... he took a shine to Rinna and by the time we had left that bar, she was 4 shots deep! And it wasn't even midday! The stuff is lethal... like Methylated Spirits! Gross.... We hooked up with a couple of girls Natalie (UK) and Lu (South Africa)... both are currently living in Bangkok - Natalie is a journalist and Lu an events coordinator! They were great fun and became our partners in crime for the rest of the day... Once we left that bar we stopped at the very next one and indulged in a 'bucket of
fun' then jumped back on our tubes to go to the next bar... By this stage we were all pretty smashed and I was thinking I probably should have gotten a lifejacket!
At the next bar we encountered the strangest man I think I have ever met... Jack.. who is this tall skinny smelly hippy in his 50's I would estimate who has taken way too many drugs and spent too much time on the party circuit in South East Asia... see the photos for what I mean... We ended up partying here for a few hours... and then the time came to do a jump into the river from some mad height... Natalie and I were first up and I knew that if I was going to do it I had to just do it and not think about it! Natalie went first and pretty much fell straight away.... I was up next and not thinking I just held on tight to the bar and jumped... I made it further than Natalie but as soon as I hit the water I realised my top was no more!!! LOL! So here I am drunk as a skunk, trying to
doggy paddle against a strong current and get my bikini top on.... there is nothing glamourous about tubing let me give you the hot tip! LOL!
Next up Rinna... and I couldnt believe my eyes .. she refused to jump... I was stunned! I thought it would of her taking the crazy stunts in her stride and me being a wuss , but not this time! I am very proud of myself that I did it, but I am even more prouder I made it back to the bar considering my swimming skills.... that current was crazy!!!
From there we walked to the next bar and by this stage a couple of Aussie boys Scotty & Nick had joined us... we had some lunch mid afternoon, kept drinking and started to get pretty messy. Rinna went missing at one stage, falling down the river bank and grabbing whatever branches she could to stop herself ending up in the river! She made it back to us bruised cut but alive (nothing major Mum dont worry!!) and by about 5pm Rinna and I called it a day getting a boat to transport us the rest of the way! It was
The Lagoon
this is where we ate lunch before climbing a massive hill to another cave... a crazy crazy insane day but soooo much fun!
Afterwards it was an early night in preparation for our trip to Luang Prabang....
The Trip to Luang Prabang
The trip to Luang Prabang was windy but uneventful. There were a couple of stops along the way for food and now we are staying at the most gorgeous little bungalows on the river just outside of town... They are stunning.. we even get food served on our balcony! You get to write your breakfast order on a whiteboard each day and breakfast is delivered straight to the balcony of your bungalow ... sweet!!!
We havent done alot in the past couple of days since arriving... just relaxing, trying to catch up on this blog and having a look around... we will try upload a new blog before we depart on the 14th for the Gibbon Experience.. otherwise you might not hear from us until the 19th Feb when we cross back into Thailand. The internet here in Laos is very slow and unreliable (I lost a whole blog the other day and almost had to start again!!!).. There are 3 pages of photos this time
so just click onto the 2 & 3 at the bottom to view rest of photos!!!
We miss everyone... are having a good time, but both cannot wait to get to Ko Phangan and start relaxing on the beach! Its pretty damn cold here at the moment!!
Love to you all
Reet and Rinna xxxxx
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Lorree
non-member comment
Hey Reety!!
Hey Reet!!! Your on your way having a blast and I'm back home now and at work!!! You look like your have a fantastic time, I wish I was back over there... I'm so jealous!!! Love the blog and pics Play hard, play safe and have a great time! xx Lorree (Eljay)