Vang Vieng

After a long and cramped 7 hr. mini bus trip through the gorgeous scenic mountains along the Mekong River, I arrived in a cute little party adventure town called Vang Vieng. This town called me here because of the extreme sports, i.e. rock climbing, spelunking, kayaking, and mountain biking. Many Phanangs are here for other reasons though like the tubing with River side bars and the fun rope swings, which I'll also try. There's another side to Vang Vieng though, and I accidentally stumbled across it. At lunch with my mini-van friend David he and I were talking about our interests in this town: what we wanted to see and do, how we were going to go about approaching them, and I was giving David advice on how to handle his Vietnam visa. Suddenly we heard the clashing of glasses "Kanpai!" I turned around and said "Hey, Kanpai! Do you know how to say Cheers in Lao?" They said no, because they only just arrived(They were Japanese). The waiter said: "Ngoke! is cheers in Lao."
Cool!
Then the Japanese party asked me if I was going to be happy inside and pointed at the restaurant sign with a little note on the back that said "we can make you happy inside," so I curiously asked what that meant. The talkative Japanese guy exclaimed that they can put magic mushrooms or ganja in your food if you ask. Whoa! I thanked them for the info, but told them I'm too old for that stuff. :) Good to know though. I'll pass the info on, hahaha!
As I walked around town making friends, and getting price deals for my extreme sports adventure extravaganza plans I heard from many people that this little town is like a mini-Amsterdam.
Anyway, I only just arrived 2 hrs ago, but already I'm surprised and curious to see what more I will discover.

I must say though, this town is nestled in the most gorgeous and gigantic mountains I've seen in SE Asia. I feel like I'm in the Alps. Alps with banana trees.