Our next destination was a place of contrast. Some of the most stunning scenery I had witnessed so far acted as the backdrop to a lot of kids, and some not so young kids, who wouldn't look out of place in Magaluf using their PR skills. There's a lot of fun to be had in Vang Vieng, whether your looking for adventure, or somewhere to party and chill the day after. Whilst in Vang Vieng we adopted English Lauren, Dutch Caro, Americans Lizzie and Jodie plus Canadians Alex and John (aka. Big Billy - do not feed) to the group. In no particular order, here are a number of things you should do in Vang Vieng; 1) Visit the blue lagoon and it's accompanying cave We took bicycles, rented for about Ā£1 for the day. It was a 14km round journey which normally wouldn't be too much of a problem, however the road was in disrepair, much like the bicycles. I'd recommend either hiring a moped or taking a Tuk Tuk there. The ride was enjoyable in terms of the scenery and wildlife we encountered, as well as the odd stray cow threatening to knock us off our bicycles. The journey is worth it though. You're greeted with a lagoon that overlooked by a pair of trees with long overhanging branches. Various swings and ropes are attached to the branches, allowing for ridiculous stunts, backflips and one poor guy who climbed to the top branch and spent around an hour performing an internal monologue, debating whether to jump or not. He soon gained the nickname Bruce and was beckoned down with a series of slow claps. He eventually gave in, climbed down and in an act of defiance jumped from the lower branch. Good for you Bruce. After what can only be described as "dicking about" in the lagoon, we ventured up a steep climb to the cave that loomed above the lagoon. Both the climb up and scrambling around in the cave was great fun and gave me a taste for more trekking and cave adventures. Would have been more enjoyable with a torch though as we could only go so far until it was pitch black! 2) Visit Mad Monkeys After our day of adventure, a drink was desperately needed. Mad Monkeys specialises in more than one however. The order of the day, everyday, is beer pong, laughing gas and shotguns. F*cking shotguns. I think I might just be getting old, at 27, and seeing through this transparent method of selling more beer. Essentially, bar staff challenge punters to shotgun pretty much every beer they purchase. Shotgunning being stabbing the beer can with a key or whatever implement is closest, allowing the duped punter to down the beer as quick as possible. Thinking about it, I'm definitely becoming more of a skeptic as I get older. I used to always do this type of crap back at university. Word of warning, much of Vang Vieng closes due to a curfew around 12pm. This is the same in Luang Prabang, hence the popularity of the bowling alley. Therefore we went to a heavily advertised "Jungle Party". No junglke to be seen, music was poor, don't bother! 3) Try a Ban Mi Literally just a baguette with the filling of your choice. Often less than Ā£1, the best drunken end of the night snack or hearty breakfast to get you through the day. Proper naughty. The crepes are second to none here too. 4) Tubing! It's fair to say that this is the main attraction for the majority of visitors to Vang Vieng. Your day starts with dropping off your rented 'tube' or giant rubber ring outside the first bar by the river. You are then immediately plied with a free whiskey shot and a free bracelet to accompany it. As you progress through the day you get a free bracelet with every shot. I've seen people covered in these bracelets, either having one very boozey day or multiple tubing voyages. From this first bar the drinking games start, as well as my favourite activity, shotgunning. Once you've had enough of the first bar the fun really begins. Grab your tube, a cold beer, head to the river and begin your journey to the next bar. Unfortunately for us it was dry season, which meant the water level was slightly low. This meant a couple of knocks from rocks on the arse on our way down, as well as a couple of capsized tubes. But that wasn't a problem, we each caught one of the generic soda bottles tied to rope that the locals were throwing to us from the next bar and continued the madness. The second bar consisted of volleyball (I played ALL the vvolleyball this day, becoming quite good at the net, it helps being six foot three inches), a game involving frisbees knocking beer cans of off sticks, more free shots... and a monkey. Although south east Asians have a reputation for being the most hospitable people, this kindness does not extend to the animal kingdom in most cases. The monkey was chained to a tree looked pretty distressed, not an uncommon sight. The day continued in much the same vein... free shots, volleyball, drinking games, basketball, free shots, float down a river... you know, the usual. This was until 6pm came creeping up on us. If you aren't back at the tubing office by 6pm you lose the deposit on the tube. Needless to say, being travellers on a budget the panic set in. We powered our way down the river one last time to the fourth bar, propelling ourselves with our arms and legs. Tuk tuks were waiting, well aware of our predicament. Verbally whipping our driver to go faster, we made it back with three minutes to spare. Job done. I was wrecked that evening and slept like a rock. 5) Visit Lu Si cave The journey to Lu Si cave by bicycle was more pleasant than that to blue lagoon. The path was smoother and the views even more stunning. Once you reach the cave you are greeted by a couple of locals who will offer their services as guides as well as torches. Both are essential as its both pitch black and fairly dangerous inside. Bats can be seen in a few areas of the cave, our tour guide jokingly offered to cook us some bat soup if we could catch one. He saw himself as a bit of a comedian, often pointing out rock formations that looked incredibly like human genetalia. Risque comedy, but I think he misjudged our high brow British humour... American Lizzie loved it obviously. Once you reach the back of the cave you can swim in the lagoon that's hidden there. The dry season shafted us again here as I imagine this lagoon to be much more impressive at other times of the year. We wrote our initials and left handprints using wet clay then made our way out of Lu Si. 7) Chill out in the Friends bar These bars are refuges for those recovering from hangovers or enjoying an afternoon stoned. They are bars/restaurants that show american sitcoms such as Friends, South Park or How I met your Mother containing travellers sprawled out across the numerous pillows, sipping down fruit shakes defining the word 'relaxed'. After spending our last afternoon taking in some breathtaking scenery, Wren decided he would go on a hot air balloon ride the following more before we departed. Unfortunately this was cancelled due to bad weather, but I'm sure he will enjoy one elsewhere in the world. We said goodbye to our new friends (as always we saw the majority of them again later on in our journey) and left for Vientaine.