Vangvieng

Dear Mom and Dad,

Tubing was an awesome experience! We rented our tubes for $7 and got a taxi to the top of the river. Along the way, there were different stops that had volleyball, a mud pit, dancing, and other activities. We left at noon and didn't return until 7. Because of this, we had to pay a $2 penalty for not having the tubes back at 6.

Here we are departing.

For each stop, there were guys that would toss a rope and water bottle to reel in the tubers. Of course, the boys had to try and had a blast with the locals seeing who could toss the farthest.

This is the mud pit. Andy dared Charlie to cannon ball in. The splash is Charlie submerging in the dirty water. 

He was blind getting out, so I had to lead him to the clean water.

Monkey see, monkey do. Andy's turn. 

Having a blast at the dance party. Classy Charlie wore a bow tie.

Here is Charlie playing competitive volleyball. Andy choose to dance with the ladies on stage. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that.

Floating down the river. We didn't see the bridge approaching from taking too many selfies. 

And this is where we smacked into the poles. Hard.

Kayaking and rock climbing were out because of prices and overall entertainment value. The kayaks you have to go two people in a raft with a guide as the third person down the same river as tubing. We talked to some people, and they said they only kayaked for 20 minutes. The rock climbing was more for teaching how to tie knots, which the boys already "know."

We decided instead to rent bikes. It cost $3 for the whole day.We rode to the Blue Lagoon, which was a terrible ride in my opinion. It was hot, over huge rocks, gears never shifted, etc. I miss my road bike with Iowa's flat paved roads. We paid 75 cents to cross the bridge and $2 to get into the Blue Lagoon. Overall,it was well worth it and lots of fun.

Here is Charlie jumping off the high tree. 

Andy doing the rope swing and then the high jump.

Here I am climbing to the high jump.

And chickening out, climbing back down.

Okay, I did do the low jump. Once.

Today we are taking a bus for $30 to Hanoi, Vietnam. They say it should take 28 hours but will probably be more. We booked a  "sleeper" so maybe there are beds? I'll update that experience next.

Love,

The river rats

Lang Prabang

Dear Mom and Dad,

 After our long two days traveling, we needed to relax for a couple of days, and that's exactly what we did. Our hostel also had HBO in english, so that was a plus. 

The food is super cheap if you can find the "mom and pop" restaurants. This meal is pork and noodle soup and costs $1.50. We ate here maNY times for lunch.

Our one day of sight seeing consisted of walking to the bamboo bridge. We didn't actually cross it because like everything else, it cost money. 75 cents to be exact. Saving money any way possible. ;)

Before hiking to the viewpoint to watch the sunset, we stopped for a quick refreshment. The boys choose a Lao beer that's the size of two beers for $1.25. 

 I choose an oreo bananna smoothie for the same price.

It costs $2.50 to go to the viewpoint but was totally worth it. Everyone tries to make money, so virtually nothing is free. 

Lang Prabang

Our favorite meal so far has been this one. It costs $5.00 a person and included one big beer, pork, beef, chicken, and an array of vegetables. The silver pan is over hot coals. First you pour water and then start rendering the fat. Next vegetables are added to make the broth. After the soup is almost complete, the meat is added to the top. The meat is cooked to your liking,so of course the boys seared the beef only for a few seconds on each side. I cooked mine a little more throughly. We forgot to take after pictures of the food because it's so delicious we couldnt help ourselves from devouring it. 

Yesterday, we left for Vang Vieng. This was no easy task. We booked the 830 am bus and decided to eat breakfast ahead of time, which means we were up at 630am. If you know anything about charlie or andy, this was a struggle  waking them up. We waited to be picked up until 930 am when the taxi finally arrived. Then we waited at the bus station And had to switch minivans four different times. Finally, they made us split up, and we were off at 11:00am. Andy had one walkie talkie and charlie and I had the other. Charlie and I arrived at 3pm. We were not dropped off at the bus terminal but in the middle of the town and knew immediately finding andy would Not be easy. At 430pm we could hear andy on the walkie talkie. The problem was he couldn't hear us responding. our backup plan was to go to the hostel that we decided on the night before. Charlie and I made our way "there" and found out that the hostel closed three years ago. There was another hostel in its place for $3 a night and decided that was a good price. We only have to share our room with two other girls. After seeing two different groups of people that were on Andys bus, Charlie and I started walking to the bus station where they said he was waiting. He did wait there for over an hour. We started walking there and another group of people said they saw him get into a cab and head towards the town center. We turned around and within feet of our hostel there was andy. It was 630pm and who knew he could read a map. He went to the location of our hostel like we planned and everything worked out. Frustrating nonetheless. 

Here's a picture of a viewpoint that was on our ride. Andys bus took a different route, so he missed out. 

View from the town Vang Vieng.

Small family farm feeding the chickens in the middle of the town. We have come accustomed to cows, goats, water buffalos, and chickens crossing all roads.

Today we are floating down a river with tube for $7. other plans for our stay here include kayaking and rock climbing, but depending on prices, weather, and overall health, things could change. On Saturday, we will take a bus for 24 hours to vietnam.

Love,

69, MadDog, and C-otter

In Laos

Dear Mom and Dad,

We have officially left Thailand and done another border crossing into Laos.  First, I need to finish off Thailand. This picture is of Andy saying "hi" to our Asian neighbors. Our hostel had a top half that a group of Chinese dudes occupied. They were fascinated by the floorboard that connected our rooms and would open it up to look down. It was really funny when Andy climbed the latter to surprise them with his peeking face. 

I left my mouthguard in the bamboo hut and desperately needed to buy a new one. I sleep with one to prevent my teeth from grinding because my teeth have slowly started to chip if I forget to wear it. I was in a panick after I realized I didn't have it with me because there was no dentist in the town. Andy saved the day and found a muay Thai training camp next to our hostel. An athletic mouthguard never crossed my mind as a substitute. His expertise from many years of hockey came in handy. He helped heat up the guard and coached me on how to form it to my mouth. It surprisingly fits nicely. Here is the outdoor training camp.

I got an extra in case I loose it again. I could also go into boxing if necessary.

A van picked us up at our hostel and drove us down to Chiang Mai. From Chiang Mai, we drove to Chiang Rai and then to Chiang Khong where we stayed the night. We were in the minivan for twelve hours. At 8am we took a bus to the border and did a border crossing. We didn't get stamped for Laos until 11am. It took forever! Our visa cost $35. Then we took the bus to the river where we got on the slow boat. Some of these pictures are out of order.

This is a picture of the slowboat. I can't format it to be near the other boat pics.

This is where we got our Laos stamps.

This is where we departed from the slow boat. We rode the boat until 6pm and stayed in Pak Beng overnight. It was a tiny town that hosts the slow boat guests. We each paid $3.50 a night for accommodations.

Tuckered Andy enjoying the boat.

It was neat to see the local people working on the river and in their villages. Clearly, the river is their lifeline.

Charlie and I enjoying the ride and views.

Some more of our sights

The currency exchange rate is $1USD to $8,000 kip. I've never had over a million dollars in my hand. I'm rich!

Sunset from the first night. Beautiful! The weather has definitely started to cool down. At night we can even see our breathe sometimes.

The second day on the slow boat was a little bit more exciting. We had to get to the boat early in order to ensure seats and not sit in the engine room. Like everything else, the boat was oversold, and many people didn't have seats.

Four hours into the trip, the engine caught on fire, and the boat had to be beached. We didn't care because the weather was hot, and the beach was gorgeous!

Enjoying the sun.

another boat arrived to bring us the rest of the way since our original  boat was shot. There was no fixing a burnt engine, and after two hours the staff realized it. Just as we were going to board the new boat, a bee flew down Andy's shirt. A bystander thought he was being helpful and slapped his back. This was not helpful and caused the bee to sting Andy. This was problematic because Andy is allergic to bee stings, so we had to act quickly by first getting a credit card to scrape out the stinger. Then we had to search through all the bags to find Andy's in order to get his epi pen. We had many people helping sift through the bags, and everything turned out okay. A bit frightening nonetheless.

Here I am climbing to the new boat.

Two hundred people smashed on a much smaller boat riding uncomfortably for another four hours.

We were thankful to arrive in Luang Prabang, our destination for four nights. Our room cost $7.50 a person per night. We spend the first full day resting after the long and stressful trip. We don't have much planned yet.

Love,

The refugees