Another Day Spent In the Sun On the Nam Song

Today, we had been informed, was to be spent out tubing again, as we had not yet been with Eli and Kat and we were fast running out of days. Although my man was feeling slightly under the weather, he decided to give it a shot anyway. So, after showering and breakfast, us 4 plus Mitch and Scott were in our swimming togs and heading down to pick up our tubes and get a tuk-tuk to the river.

It wasn't long before everyone was floating in the cool, refreshing waters of the Nam Song River and enjoying the first stage of the tubing experience, when one can let the current take them, take in the fantastic scenary and watch the hundreds of multi-coloured dragon flys zipping across the water and landing on our tubes. Laos truly is a beautiful and amazing country.

Kat and I had decided that rather than the swing, we were just going to jump the 15m to the water.

It wasn't long, however, before we hit the main bar on the tubing route and we had all bought our first beer of the day and found somewhere to bask in the hot sun and watch the various performances from the people on the swing. Unluckily, at this point my poor baby reached the decision that he was in no fit state to go tubing for the day. He was about to grab his ring and head down to the finish, when Mark, Mitch's friend, showed up, having hired a moto to come straight to the bar, so Brett took his opportunity and rode the moto back to have a quiet day of rest, leaving Mark to enjoy a day of tubing with the rest of us.

Once a had said goodbye to my wonderful man, I joined the others who had gone to join in a game of volleyball. Having never played before, I sat on the sidelines sipping my beer and munching on some spring rolls. The game didn't look that hard, however, so, after finishing my food, I joined in my first ever game of volleyball. And I was crap. OK, I hit the ball but I'm too much of a woose to risk hurting myself just to get the ball. And I also can't serve. Oh well, it was fun anyway.

Once we had all got as hot and sweaty as possible and our beers had either run dry or gone warm and flat, we went to replenish our alcohol levels with fresh supplies and then try some tricks and jumps on the swing. Kat and I had decided that rather than the swing, we were just going to jump the 15m to the water. On the count of 3, both of us jumped at the same time, rebounded off each other and hit the water. I have to say, it was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Much scarier than the swing.

After 1 more jump, this time Tarzan-style from the swing, it was 4pm and we had to head back so Eli and Kat could open the bar on time. Sitting in my tube, I started talking to a Norwegian girl floating next to me. We suddenly saw a motorised long boat heading in our direction, so we made an attempt to paddle our rings to safety, though we both expected the boat to steer away. But no! The boat rammed straight over our legs and kept going, leaving us desperate to try and get out of the way before the propeller chopped off our legs. The boat carried straight on with no concern for the 2 people it had just hit and with the Laos guy and 2 older Western tourists laughing. They even had the nerve to come back and take photo's!

Apart from that and a tandem topless swing by 2 girls at another bar, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed, the rest of our tube ride was very uneventful. To anyone planning a tubing experience in Vang Vieng though, I would recommend making sure you finish by 4pm. A refreshing float in cool river water can get freezing cold once the sun starts to set. After an hour, we were all freezing cold and desperate to just get the end and warm up. At the speed the river goes at this time of year, this was going to take forever. We, therefore, made the decision to paddle ourselves down. It definitely saved time but by the time we finished, my arms felt like they were going to fall off. God, I'm so unfit!

After a quick warm up around one of the fires at the island bars, we went to drop off our tubes and then I hurried back to the hostel to see how my wonderful, but not so well, boyfriend was doing. A day of rest had obviously done the trick and, after I had showered, we both went out to Jeska to finish our night together.

A vodka bucket or 2 helped to put Brett back on track and the evening was going well. Brett was even feeling well enough to partake in some 'Fight Club' style sport with Eli and then Nick, one of the staff from another guesthouse. And he only finished with a few bruises. Boys! Don't know what to do with them but couldn't live without them. Once Jeska cosed, we all headed down to the island bars to finish our night in style next to the river. After a day without my man, it was great to be able to finish together with a perfect night. Hopefully, he will feel better in the morning.