Vang Vieng

Took the 7 hour bus along winding misty mountain roads to Vang Vieng, a town halfway between Luang Prabang and Vientienne. The town is small, lots of backpackers, and surrounded by looming karst mountains, a bit like Halong Bay, Vietnam but without the bay. Once you get out of the Khaosan Rd-esque ghetto of "happy" shakes and pizza and their stoned victims, you're in the midst of some of the most beautiful, unspoilt countryside.

Yesterday, I went kyaking, caving and treking with a bunch of brazilians, a brit and a spaniard. The highlight was swimming and climbing through "Sleeping Cave", named so because over 200 people took refuge in the cave from bombing during the fighting against the french and then the americans. We also stopped by an organic farm to try a round of mullberry shakes and took turns jumping into the river from a platform along a stop. I've reclaimed my inner country boy for today.

After being kept up half the night night by a bunch of loud Isrealis outside my $4/night room in town, I checked into a bungalow on the riverbank with an awesome view of the mountains - a really plush place with hardly anyone around except an old Lao man who was clacking away on his typewriter on his balcony. I learned later that he was a famous Lao writer who was notable not only for his work but also for never finishing university. His motto was that his wife was his university.

Today, I found a copy of Paul Koelho's "The Alchemist" in a tatty used bookstore in town where the staff did not speak english. Never read anything by him but noticed his books wherever there were backpackers. I spend the afternoon reading along the river, listening to the Rachels' "Music for Egon Schiel" on my mp3 player before the rains came.