We have returned to Vientiane after six days in the village of Vang Viang. There, we chilled on the banks of the Nam Song, kayaked, explored caves, and ate delicious organic food. In the evenings we ran through the villages along the hi-way. (The roads in this country would make even the most jaded Winnipegger think twice about their local pothole complaints.) While we ran the locals would give us thumbs-up signs, and the children would wave and shout enthusiastic hellos: SA-BA-DI!

Kayaking along the Nam Song river we were surrounded by limestone giants and jungles of Bamboo. Later we swam through an underground river and trekked deep into the heart of one of these giants. The cave was a massive labyrinth of waterways, and tunnels full of bats and spiders. One of the girls we were with slipped and fell down a hole. We had just been joking that it was bottomless, or that it lead to another underground river. When I heard her scream, and watched (in slo-motion) her body disappear, I thought she was a goner. But the hole had a bottom, and the top of her head was still to be seen. Dirty and shaken, she was pulled out.

Before we finished our trip we kayaked to a river-side bar, drank some BeerLaos, and swung on a crazy rope swing into the river. (Imagine standing on a swing attached to small mountain-side tree. You are hanging in the middle of a river. A long rope leads back to the shore. Strong boys grab the rope tug-of-war style and run until you are almost parallel with the river. And then you drop, swing, swear, jump, splash, laugh, swim, return.)

This afternoon we will begin our 16 hour journey to Bangkok.

And now for something completely different.

Stories written by a computer:

John became very lazy at work
John lost his job
John decided to get drunk
He started to commit crimes
John went to prison
He experienced bruises
John cried
He looked at himself differently

Mary went to the zoo
Mary learned about animals
Mary experienced enlightenment
Mary felt superior
Mary became a snob
Mary was disliked
Mary felt ashamed of who she was

From: MAKEBELIEVE - Using Commonsense Knowledge to Generate Stories [PDF]