Five Minute Friends

When in Laos, i made damn sure i went Tubing (click here), even if it meant going alone! 

There were bottles of body paint and stencils

 That's Anna's bum being stencilled with a pink heart

Me, Natasha, Stephanie, and Anna 

My Five Minute Friends

In the world of Backpacking, which i did in August and October 2010, Five Minute Friends are friends u meet, hang out with for a bit and then part ways. It doesn't really mean 5 minutes of friendship, it could be a day out tubing in Vang Vieng like this 

or 25km of downhill cycling in the mountains of Chiang Mai 

or a sunrise camwhore side kick in Koh Tao.

Five Minute Friends is just a term concocted by a Korean American i met. 

You are never alone when travelling alone. People are friendlier

I dont remember how i started talking to the Natasha and Stephanie, the Canadian girls but we ended up trusting each in the sense that i'd look after their bags when they go sliding into the river and they do the same for me!

Yours truly with long hair back in 2010 =) 

There's this generalisations that the Japanese are always early. 

Met Nissan while waiting for the tuktuk to go tubing

Being kiasu Malaysian, i got up early to get a longer day tubing. But i ended up waiting for over an hour at "the Shop". The tuktuks that will take u up to the river bank where you float down, will not leave "the Shop" until there are at least 4 people in a tuktuk. 

Nissan and i were the only ones waiting so we started talking. I gave up and went back to my accommodation to go online. 30 minutes later, there were SO many people at the Shop. Lazy 'normal' travellers slept in, only insane Asian travellers woke up early! HAHAHAH

Me cuddling a puppy in front of a make shift flying fox structure. Photo taken by Jeff, Anna's husband

Nice couple Anna and Jeff from Chicago

Bumped into them later on in Vang Vieng, they were staying in the same backpackers as me! 

Flying solo, having the time of my life

The tubing shop that rents out the tubes wrote some Laotian wording and number on my left hand. Systematic method of keeping track of their yellow rubber tubes perhaps?

Wild water theme park by the river. Alcohol served throughout the day, attracting throngs of visitors a year.  

Part two on Tubing, click Here