Vientianne

We are currently in the Laos capital city of Vientianne. It is not a very exciting place but it gives us a good excuse to rest and relax for a day or so before the craziness of Vietnam. We fly into Hanoi tomorrow. Only a week left. Boy, how time flies. We loved the rest of Vang Vieng (not sure if that is spelled right but too bad). It is a crazy hippie backpacker haven. We ate dinner at the best place called Jack Johnson's. It had low tables on elevated bamboo platforms with lounging mats and small backs to lean on. So you could literally lie down while you ate and drank. We ordered buckets of drinks. We got pails vodka and lemon (real squeezed lemonade), they were fabulous. We could have easily spent a few more days there. Cheap and fabulous. Too funny that most bars and restaurants play reruns of the show Friends all day everyday. I was told that but it is still funny to see. Yesterday we kayaked the Song river. It was a lovely kayak. However, I got injured doing something stupid. The guide stopped at this 35 foot high swing over the water. Everyone else went for a swing and it looked great. So I decided since I love heights this would be great. However, I am not sure what happened. When I jumped off the platform the swing slipped right out of my hand. I don't even know what happened. I hit the water on my side so hard it knocked the wind out of me. I came up gasping. When I finally got my breath it was fine. However, I am still getting stiffer all the time. I have a bruise down my entire left side of my body (which is rare since I usually don't bruise). I think I also bruised a few ribs and now have a stiff neck. Oh well serves me right. I just hope I will feel better in a couple of days for kayaking in Halong Bay. I guess it is better then regretting missing out if I never tried it. Dan (the best active release therapist in the world) I hope you know you are going to have to fix me up when I return. The rest of the kayak was beautiful. Huge towering limestone cliffs on both sides of the river. We even got to see 2 huge water buffalos having sex beside us on the river. Like an episode of animal planet up close and personal. The locals were howeling too. After a great curry for lunch we drove for 4 hours to Vientianne and had a great group dinner last night. This morning we went to Wat Sisaket here. The oldest temple here. They are just starting to fix it up so it was in bad repair. Now we will have some lunch and relax. Take care everyone. Love, Sonya:)