Geeeeeranimoooooooo......SPLAT

So Anke and I headed off to our day of water fun.

We first went to a cave where the tour guide told us some Laos folklore. Then we went to another cave to go tubing. One of the most scariest experiences of my life. We went in a tube with a flashlight on our heads and a battery pack on our necks. We were supposed to believe that there was nothing in the water and nothing in the cave. There actually wasn't. After paddling in the virtual dark for 200 Meters and we had to turn around, that I finally stopped holding my breath and trusted that something like the lochnessmonster was not going to come out from under me.

Then we had lunch. Right on the river. It was gorgeous. I have been waiting for four weeks to see a waterfall and this was soo much better then a waterfall!

Then we kayaked. 10 kilometers. I don't know how to convert it still, so don't ask. Half way through we stopped at an organic farm that our friend Bart worked at and we got to see some Laos travel to teach volunteers. Then we went to the jumping off point. It was pretty high up. You had to grab onto a swing as you jump and swing on the swing a few times and then fall into the water lightly. I apparently did not understand the "hold onto the swing" concept, and as soon as I left the platform, I let go of the swing as well and fell about 25 feet maybe into the water. Back first. My back has been purple ever since, and painful as hell. It immediately knocked the wind out of me, but of course I couldn't cry in front of other people so I held it in, and tried to encourage Anke to jump by putting on a happy face. She went and loved it. (the picture captures me about to hit the water, back first. I kept it big so you could see exactly what happened. I won't put pictures of my back up for fear that my mother will fly to South East Asia herself and retrieve me. Honestly I'm fine. Just a little scratch!!)

We still had to paddle 4 more kilometers to the end which was miserable. We decided to return to Nongkhai the next morning. We went out to dinner and were in bed by 10pm.

Viettiene which is the capitol is a dreadful city. Think Albany, minus the skyscrapers, add alot of dirt, keep the pointlessness, and you've got Viettiene. We wound up staying as little as possible there and were back in Nongkhai by dinner.

All in all, I was not a fan of Laos. Vang Vieng, where we did the water sports was cool. If I could have brought all my friends there to Spring Break there, it would have been amazing. There were so many people tubing down the river, going from one waterside bar to the next. It was very touristy. It was entertaining to be a backpacker for a few days. We volunteers consider ourselves much better then tourists because we really get to know the places we stay in, and we are giving back....haha. But yeah, I'm glad I went but I'm equally as glad to be back.

Instead of writing my last day away I am going to enjoy it by spending time with the others. I will write again I'm sure when I go to Vietnam. I am leaving tomorrow morning and should be there the next morning? Maybe? Alot of it is still up in the air. Oh South East Asia.

See ya on the flip side!