I’m on a small wooden platform covered by a thin mat, reclining under a parasol with my back against the low railing. Behind me the brownish green river, occasionally a couple of kayakers float past. In front of me, on a larger wooden platform, is a bunch of twenty something Europeans in their swimsuits, dancing and drinking Beer Lao. All the while techno music is booming from the speakers, filling the otherwise blissful landscape with its noise.