Luang Prabang with it's night markets and culture stacked up all over the town is a stark contrast to the sleepy and yet at the same time party town that is Vang Vieng. It's all about the tubing and buckets here.
The first night we got there, we sat having "The coldest beer in town, guaranteed!". This promise was made by the owner of the Aussie Bar. Would you believe he also had a BBQ out front? Course you would. No shrimps though. We saw a number of people returning their tubes after a day out on and indeed in the river, some in better states than others. This went on into the early evening and even later. There was a Rave night promoted over the road where we were promised free shots and free rave paints by a girl who wasn't even born when the rave scene was in effect. In my day... No wait... Must... Act... Younger.... So, like, what I meant like was like oh my god thats so retro and like we were just totally wasted from like the journey and like we heaed home to catch some zees.
That's enough of that. We got up the next day, had a hearty breakfast and got in line for our tubes. We then got squished onto a tuk tuk with eight other people and talked nervously among ourselves about what the day had in store. We get to the drop off point and can't quite believe what there is laid out in front of us. There are bars up on stilts dotted along the river offering free shots along side the normal fare of buckets and beers. The bars also have all manner of slides and rope swings to attract their clientele. We had such a laugh and didn't care that we set off home late, lost a tube as well as a flip flop each and Jo's sunglasses. We got back and showered but Jo was not for heading out as she was a little tired and emotional. I went out and joined up with our new best friends that we'd only met that day and shall probably never see again.
The next day was a sombre affair as we counted the cost of our exploits. It wasn't a financial cost that was the issue but more the physical one. Jo had slipped and came down with a bump on a pointy rock which has now developed into a cacophony of purples and yellows. She also grazed her knee and elbow in the same incident. I wasn't quite so efficient and can't place all of my injuries. I've got a wonky knee that is slowly getting better, a bruised arch and a blackened big toe. Then there's the aching chest and stomach muscles from the rope swings, sore back from a hard hit off a slide and a constitution that has been knocked bandy with a taste of the Nam Song river. We have, so far at least, avoided one the more popular souvenirs from tubing which is Pinkeye. Speaking of which, I'm due a set of preventitive eye drops. Toodle pip.
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