The trip from Vang Vieng to Vientiane (Laos' capitol) was the coolest mode of transport I have yet taken: kayak! Admittedly, we left VV by truck, and arrived in Vientiane by truck, but for part of the journey we kayaked. And not wimpy, slow water kayaking but helmet-requiring rapids too! The guide took my glasses from me during one difficult rapid stretch, which I was thankful for as we tipped into the river and had to rescue another kayak er who was stranded on a rock. After lunch, my guide asked to borrow my lifejacket and returned my glasses. Of course, this pretty much meant that my kayak would tip! (I blame the lousy balancing of the other guide who shared it with me!). I was pushed under the water and quickly realized that the current was holding me under. I was thankful for my dive course instructor's words: stop, think and resolve the problem. I surfaced to discover that my glasses were still on.
The truck broke down on the way into town, thus ensuring that I got a full compliment of true Laos experiences. Had a nice dinner with my travel mates down by the river. Although they snickered at my insistence on seeing the kitchen where the food was to be prepared, I was especially thankful later on when another guest in my hotel began vomiting loudly about 4 a.m.!
Here's the stretch of river that tipped me into the water. Hope there's no river worms breeding in my brain now...
3 comments:
Thor... not sure which i love more your words or your photos... thanks for sharing both!
Adventure! Glad you made it out of the water in one piece, Thor.
I'm rather amused that after all that death-defying behaviour you refused to hazard a potentially grubby kitchen.
Well, once you spend a night over the porcelain alter, you'd rather risk having your head crushed!
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