tubing paradise

Yesterday was halloween so we joined the rest of the tourists in Vang Vieng by going tubing. tubing is what this town is known for. it has evolved from taking a blown up tube (like a dougnut) down the river on the current, to end up in town, to a bar crawl. all the hotrockers dressed up in the fancy dress box clothes (ie all the guys wore dresses!) then we set off to get a tuk tuk to town with a few strange looks! the first 5 bars of the tubing were right next to eachother, on the edge of the river. the first bar had a swing where you grab the bar and jump off the platform, wizzing over the water until you let go. it was a bit scary and it took me a few swings before i eventually let go and fell a good 6-10 metres into the water (it was hard to judge how high it was but it felt really high!!). it was a good day as the whole of hotrock came and tubed, apart from Jerry. it was a nice way to bond with everyone again, and great to be in a big group. we got the 3rd bar to play some hotrock tunes which got everyone singing along. we saw a few other people dressed up as super heros and a blue smurf. most of the bars had a swing, or later on they had mud pools and volleyball etc. it was great to watch people hitting the water in bad positions as they let go of the swing-constant entertainment, or the risk of being pushed off the side into the river when you were least expecting! danny hung upside down on the swing then jumped off doing a backflip! and the first casualty was when danny and Mustard jumped together then fell off really awkwardly and mustard got a nose bleed. by about 5pm we decided to float down the rest of the river to return the tubes in town, and get our deposit back before 6. the rest of the way was quite slow and it got cold really quickly. we eventually arrived at a bridge we recognised at 6.40. we soon met up with most of the hotrockers again in a bar in town that played really bad music. but it was a good end to the day.
we now have 2 more days after today before heading to Vientiane, which is the capital of Laos. im hoping to rent a kayake and go down the river rather than have a drive day sitting on BiRT. the river has a good current so it shouldnt be too hard work, but im not sure if there are any rapids!
climbing wise, i completed a 6b lead eventually, which i had backed off the other day, and tried to lead a really scary 6b+ that involved going around tufas and out of a cave, and was so awkward. so getting half way up i was quite happy with! it was one of those climbs i hated when i was climbing it but as soon as i was safely on the group again, it suddenly seemed like an awesome climb! perhaps my leading head is getting better and im remembering how much fun it can be to feel exposed and scared on a climb!

Vang Vieng, Laos