Vang Vien and Beyond ...

Before leaving Luang Probang we got up at 5.30 AM (yes, AM) to kneel on the pavement and give alms to rows of Buddhist monks who file past to collect any kind of food you care to give. Ours seemed to be a bucket of sticky rice but I am sure some of the younger ones would have loved a chocolate bar! I had to keep my eyes down (not fit to look at them apparently...) so all I saw was a row of dirty shuffling feet although I did manage to sneak a peek every now and then. We finally left on a bus and spent hours on winding roads through the mountains down to Vang Vien. Supper somewhere along that road included deep fried mulberry leaves, mulberry wine and chips - oh, the veggie diet is an interesting one...

Next excitement was "tubing" down the Nam Song - great fun. 3 of us girls went with a guide (the rest opted for dragon boat race watching) early one morning. The river is fairly fast flowing and has 6 bar stops (we didn't drink as supposed to at each stop as it was too early even for us....) and at each stop there was a bungy swing into the river - climbing 20m up a bamboo ladder, walking the plank and grabbing a trapeze frame then stepping out into mid-air is very very scary. Once out, there is only one way back and that is to let go and drop into the river and swim like crazy against the current to the shore - awesome (as the Aussies here say a lot!)

Until the next posting....

Love Annie and Doug