I went to Vang Vieng more often. It was an easy day trip (130kms from Vientiane) through the foothills, and a good place to spend the night. The mountains were spectacular and there were caves. I went with David Pepper on John Everingham’s motorbike once, and we found a cave into which water was flowing. There was a raft outside. We lay flat on it to get under the overhanging lip of rock, and then it immediately began to move faster into the tunnel. We could hear the sound of roaring water in the darkness. We scrabbled desperately at the sides of the cave and pushed with our bamboo poles until we escaped the current. It was a moment of panic.

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On one trip, we met a hunter who had caught a midget deer. It did not seem to be injured. I bought it from him, took it down the road and set it free. I hoped the hunter wouldn’t catch it again.