Tubing Down The River

I sat and ate some noodle soup for breakfast looking out over the river and towards the huge green mountains. Early morning mist gathered around the mountain tops, I sat and considered what to do for the day whilst watching the locals cock fighting for entertainment. After wandering around the village I bumped into some of the other guys who were all heading out to visit a village with some caving and tubing (going down the river on a rubber ring) in between. I decided to go along for the ride as the fishing I was planning to do was more expensive.

We took a tiny narrow boat up the river to a remote village where we looked around and checked out the small school that had been built with a donation from some Candian travellers. From the village we were taken to a dark cave and given a large rubber ring , a large shot of Lao Lao (a local spirit) and a torch. We floated deep into the cave trying to find our way in the dark, eventually after about forty minutes we found our way out onto the river. As we exited the cave we tubed down the huge river with no civalisation in sight on either side, our boat and the guide zoomed off back to the village leaving us at the mercy of the river on just a little rubber ring. The puncher repair job on my rubber ring wasn't filling me with confidence as I noted small bubbles appearing from one corner. The scenery on the river was beautiful with jungle on either side without a single bit of concrete or even a bamboo hut in sight.

We made it back in one piece and went for a spot of dinner at one of the restaurants on the river. I felt I should contact friends and relatives today to let them know I'm still alive but unfortunately there is no way of calling out here and certainly no Internet access. I'm slowly getting used to showering with just a small bucket, a pool of water with a big spider sat on the wall staring at me. It certainly wakes you up in the morning.