New Year's Eve in the tubing

I've started my trip towards New Years Party on 27th from Bangkok. I got to Vientiane, town studded with crumbling French mansions, bougainvillea­-blooming streets and steaming noodle stalls. It is somewhere between a big town and a diminutive city. I've spent there one day, did some sightseeing, one night and took a bus to Vang Vieng, which is a town nestled beside the Nam Song (Song River) amid stunningly beautiful limestone karts terrain. Most of the people coming here come here for tubing, chilling out in restaurants/bars playing endless reruns of Friends or Family Guy on their big screens. There is also some climbing here and caves to visit.
I've arrived here a little bit sick, still from the freezing cold bus trip to Vientiane, so my first day and sight were rather calm and relaxing, just to get better. To be ready for tubing on 31st and good party to enter New Year smoothly.
And indeed tubing was so awesome. I must say that I've loved it. It was even better cause we were bunch of funny people. Two of my friends who I met before - Markus from Sweden and Todd from Canada. There was that US boy and couple from Russia, but they've been living in California for over than 20 years. Unfortunately Natasha was not feeling too well after last night vodka party, so she must have skipped tubing, Marcus got completely wasted after a while so our group shrinked, but we meet other people, as always...
Whole day we've spent dancing, jumping to the water from huge swings, zip lines and slides, playing mud volleyball, drinking buckets and free shots, talking, tubing and all the crazy shit that you can imagine.
We had to be ready at 6 p.m. not to lose deposit that we've paid for tubes, but anyway it was too cold to stay longer, so we tubed down and took tuk-tuk to the town.
After quick shower we went to have some food and continue partying, first in Q-Bar, than in Rock Bar at the island, where I've managed to lost Natasha and Andrei, as we've lost all the others in Q-Bar already anyway. But I've met there that Polish girl who was a lot of rock'n'roll and who I think was the nicest Polish person that I've met during my whole trip so far (not that I've met so many of them).
I've had funny situation too with some Italian guys. During tubing I've realised that I know one Italian guy from Siem Reap so we've started to talk, but there was that other guy so similar to him, so I was getting confused all the time. So imagine I'm in a bar, I see that guy and I start talking to him, after a while I realise that he's not the guy that I thought he is, so I try to explain myself and say, that there is that other lad who is so similar to you, he could be your brother. And here he comes: "I'm his brother". That was insane. So funny.
I think that I've went to bed around 6 in the morning. That would mean that I had 18 hours of partying. I have no clue how it is possible but apparently it is, though the next day was rubbish. I did nothing. Just hanging around with friends and trying to survive till the evening to go to bed.

Vientiane - Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in Vientiane build in 1818 by king Anouvong

Buddhas in Wat Si Saket - the oldest temple in Vientiane

Buddhas in Vientiane. This one is in Haw Pha Kaew, museum which has the best collection of Buddha images in Laos. To tell you the truth I was not impressed at all.

Lost in Vientiane. There was also lost cock

Party crew in Vang Vieng, starting from the left: Andrei, Natasha, me, Todd and Markus

On the way to tubing

In the tubing with Andrei and Willy

In the tubing with Lao boy who was throwing us ropes to get us to the bar

In the tube with a bucket

New Year's Eve with locals

Confusing Italian boys

Polish style

First sunset in 2011

get robbed in Thailand

I even don't know when and where it's happened. But they must have had loads of time to do that, as they've taken only one of my cards even thought they were in one place and the same with money, they've left some so that I would not discover it to soon. They must have dig through all my stuff and be able to open bag, which was in bag, which was in another bag.
And indeed I did not discover it until next three days probably. Just before leaving from Bangkok to Vientiane. So imagine how surprised I was to find out that I'm 400$ short and my Amex is gone.
Luckily I've managed to deactivate it, but that was a bit of challenge as well, as my phone was locked in another room, where I temporarily had no access, so I had to find someone to do it for me from Poland. Kinga as always was helpful and managed to call them and even get some details on transactions performed. Which was 300$ in Tesco in Thailand.
After I got my phone back I gave them a call once again to ask more details, like which Tesco or what time the transaction took place, but the only thing that they knew was time - 21 American time on 24th of December, which here is about 9a.m. on 25th of December.
I've arrived to Bangkok by bus very early morning on 25th and took a cab to the guest house, where I went directly to bed and locked my valuables before. Maybe it was my mistake not to check it before, but still that probably would not help, cause my idea is that the robbery occurred on the bus.
Many people say that it happens very often on the bus. They spread something to make you sleepy via air conditioning system and than go through your bag.
So my journey to Laos has started in a bad mood. I also started to be suspicious and maybe paranoid sometimes. I've lost this security that I had so far.