Chilling in Laos

'Before' shot

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Sleepless night in Vang Viang, sitting on the Wat (temple) steps at 4am.

'After' shot

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Still sitting at the Wat steps, 6.30am. Wat da! Vang Vien, a memorable place.... We arrived at 3am, lucky for me my friend Karina decided to join me at the last minute. The sky was pouring, we could find no place to stay.... We spent an hour at the bus shelter waiting for the rain to stop and finally headed out (in the rain). The road behind the bus shelter appeared to us as a river because of the rain, it was shiny and we really thought it was a river... Ha! We kept walking for hours looking for somewhere to cross this river.. eventually we made our way down to the real river and saw the signs pointing to the Riverside bungalows... What a relief, we walked around the bend and were welcomed by a pack of barking dogs blocking the way... There were at least 6 of them, and only two of us... We didn't dare continue that way, they were Big dogs... So, back to square one, no place to stay. We spent the next couple of hours awaiting daylight on the front steps of the nearby Wat... wet and muddy. We heard the drums of the monks at 4am, which was a bonus...

Football game

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Just a random game in the rain, everyone playing had had a few drinks. This was taken at a bamboo bar at the river banks near Vang Viang. This town is quite new, it was created purely for the tourists, drawn here by the beautiful mountains, caves and rivers.

Inside the cave...

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...was my only tubing adventure in Vang Viang, others also took tubing down the river. We were equipped only with a head torch and a tube for sitting in. Inside the cave surrounded by darkness, in silence, suspended in cold water and propelled by the motion of one's own hands, was a trully amazing experience. One by one, we paddled for half an hour into the flooded tunnel, part of a labyrinthine network of tunnels, our guide's song occasionally breaking the silence. Each of us had their own illuminated piece of the stunning ceiling above to admire along the way. We saw beautiful colours and textures, not able to be captured by the flash of a camera, only in our memories they still exist.... or till the next torch brings them back from the darkness.

4000 Islands -01

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The most relaxing place on Earth.

4000 Islands - 05

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Walking through a bamboo forest

4000 Islands - 07

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Terrential rain over the islands... very very beautiful to watch.

4000 Islands - 08

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Our bungalows at the edge of Don Dett island. I spent many hours in my hammock contemplating the mysteries of life. (i've come up with nothing yet)

4000 Islands - 09

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A few of us islanders.