Vang Vieng

15-17th July 2004.

Vang Vieng is the kind of place where if you are a smelly hippy you would chant "I loooove Laoooos" whilst watching DVDs.  Yes, its full of stoners watching films all day long, but its a very pretty, tiny place set amongst dirt roads, restaurants, along the Nam Song river.

The limestone rocks add to the beauty of the riverbeds.

We got into town late and some agency bloke convinced us to do a Kayaking trip along the river complete with caves. It turned into a bit of a zoo by 9am.  Still, very pretty views.

Claire is getting used to caves, you can just see the enthusiasm bursting out of her.

It might have something to do with the fact that she was wading in muddy water up to her knees to get there and the fact that the days kayaking was more like a two man white water rafting trip!  She doesn't realise that in two hours she will be freezing cold going through water covering her whole body whilst the monsoon rains beat down rather cold and hard.

Jason isn't getting many kisses today so has to resort to trying it on with this cow.

Claire took a crap photo as seconds earlier he actually got a pash.

Just after the rain, we stop for jumping off a rock face and beer Lao.

The procedure is; drink your big bottle of beer, jump off ten metre cliff into fast moving stream, and try not to drown.

Keeping it real in Laos is the Army. They even run business here, a dynamic partnership that leads to one of the lowest per capita GDPs in the world. Nice work fellas!

Another day and we took to a motorbike for exploring.  We were lucky to find a very busy family working the fields.  

They were friendly enough to let virgin rice planter Jason join. Jason put in one plant to their twenty, but they seemed rather amused that someone had the guts to get in their muddy paddys.

There where bemused to say the least... crazy whiteys, why aren't they planting their own fields.

This is the way to fish, leaping into the water with a net.... and what looks suspiciously like a late 60's England football shirt on.

And the hat looks a lot like the one Beckham had over his face during those two penalty kicks.

Jason likes to pretend he is young again, these boys aren't quite sure what to think of him.  The boy in the black togs could do Jason's other breakdance moves but looks like he will be trying this one out later.

Jason broke his helmet doing this and later spent the whole of the next day needing his head rubbed because he is not as flexible as he used to be and headspins never were easy.

"I am a tortured genius, no one understands
the breakdancer anymore." Not even natives in Y-Fronts.

Anyone for a sausage? Dried in the sun next to a toilet.

Ok boys this is how you fill up a lawn mower with petrol.  If you look closely you can see the lawn mower is actually handmade... and it takes 6 monks drive it.

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