beetle spirits, and capsizing!

Kayaking was awesome! to start at the beginning of the day- we woke up for a special breakfast at 8, put on by the owners of the hostel. they wanted to thank us for staying with them, and send us off in a traditional Laos style. this meant that they cooked us a rice pudding type dish with pork in it. it was delicious. we then had to gather in a circle on the floor while the man said a few words of luck to us. then cme the surprise- we were each given shots of locally made alcohol- in fact one of the bottles was full of crushed beetles on the bottom and we had seen the girl catching the beetles the day before! unfortunately there was no way of refusing as they came round giving us blessings and each family member tying a bit of white cotton around our wrists while saying a prayer. the older lady had a great chuckle and found everything hilerious. she then kept giving some of the guys more shots that htey couldnt refuse!! the alcohol was strong, and i escaped after 3 shots feeling a bit drunk! it was not a good way to meet the kayake tuk tuks!!
we drove for an hour in the tuk tuks to reach a section of the river where we put the kayakes in the water and had a very bad description of what to do down the rapids and if we capsize. we were also assured that we probably would capsize as all 11 of the last group had!! the kayakes were tourist ones that sit above the water and so are quite wobbly. they were also 2 person. i went with Dan as he is normally a raft instructor and pretents he knows what hes doing! so i wouldnt need to worry about capsizing! the first rapid was quite fast with very strange currents. i got excited and forgot to paddle! but luckily i started again, only to fnd we had gone too far right and quickly capsized! we got back on the boat without too much trouble and followed the others round the courner, almost going over again when we headed straight for a rock! 2 other kayakes capsized too. i was glad to capsize as it seemed all part of the fun! the next rapid was easier and we made it through fine. after that we stopped for a great lunch- barbequed chicken kebabs, fried rice and bagettes that the guides prepared on the river bank. then a short stretch of easy water to meet a taxi to take us the rest of the way to Vientiane. it was too short asnd i was just getting into the rapids when we finished them, but it was great fun.
Vientiane is nothing special- its a capital city. they have a lot of western food but unfortunately at western prices if not even more. we will see a temple today to do the touristy bit. we relaxed at a waterpark yesterday. next is bushcamp which i am looking forward too.

beetle spirits, and capsizing!

Vientiane, Laos