Lazy days and overcrowded buses

According to the laminated brochure which rests on the wicker tables at KNT, I have seen the majority of Luang Nam Tha's attractions already. I contemplated visiting the sacred forests near the Black Tai villages, which are basically the village cemeteries. The Black Tai bury the dead under small houses stocked with items they will need in the afterlife. However, I decided that wandering around a forest full of dead people was not really on my list of priorities when I came to Laos!

Instead I wandered to the Black Tai village of Tong Ja Tai, which is situated on the banks of the Nam Tha. I found a pleasant spot of grass by the river, soaked up the sun for a while, wrote this journal and watched the Black Tai children playing in the water.

I had a late lunch at Heuan Lao Restaurant before completing the only other task on KNT's list that I'd not yet accomplished. I climbed the naga staircase on the hill behind the Hongthaxay Hotel, to the north of Luang Nam Tha. I was a little early for sunset but from the top of the hill there's a good view of Luang Nam tha town and the surrounding valleys.

Luang Nam Tha - Huay Xai (60,000KIP)

I dropped by the bus station yesterday to check the times of the buses down to Huay Xai today. There was a whiteboard with Lao script on it but next to the words "Huay Xai" was written "07:00" and "09:30", which I assumed to be the departure times. However, when I arrived at the bus station at 6:30 this morning to buy my ticket, I was informed that 7am is the time you have to show up to be guaranteed a seat on the bus; the bus doesn't actually leave until 9:30!!

When I returned from the market (where I bought some bananas and strange coconut/rice sweets for the journey) at 7:15, the only remaining seats were plastic chairs in the aisle, and sure enough all of these were taken by 7:30! The bus ended up departing half an hour early, at 9am, although I'm not even sure why it had to wait around for an hour and a half when we couldn't physically fit any more passengers inside the vehicle.

The journey was a tough one : when I'd read that the road was in the process of being improved, I didn't realize the work was being carried out along the entire stretch from Luang Nam Tha to Huay Xai. The roads were very uneven and very much unfinished, so much so that there was so much dust around we had to keep the windows shut. With the absence of fans inside the bus and a seriously overcrowded vehicle, you can imagine how unbearable the heat was.

On the plus side, the road to Huay Xai weaves it's way through some picturesque mountains so there's some beautiful scenery along the way, if you can see it through the dust being thrown off the stony surface beneath!

After hearing stories from other travelers about how gruelling this journey is and that it takes at least 10 hours, I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Keo Champa bus station (2km from Huay Xai) after just 8 and a half. At 5:30, we'd arrived at just the right time to watch the sun setting over the Mekong from our tuk tuk, as it transported us to our final destination of Huay Xai.

I checked into the Huay Xai Guesthouse and went for a bite to eat at Nutpop. I'd been tempted to try this place due to it having a "long Lao menu" according to Lonely Planet. Indeed it has but unfortunately not much of it is in English!

Photo to follow.

Drug deals, dirt roads and pagodas

I had a very odd encounter over breakfast this morning. An Akha lady approached me whilst I was finishing my coffee in The Banana Cafe and attempted to sell me the usual Akha wares (wrist bands decorated with various beads and painted seeds). When I said no she discreetly opened her shoulder bag to reveal a huge bag of weed, which she offered me instead! It didn't really sink in at the time just how surreal the whole experience was : member of local village tribe operating a shady undercover drug deal in street cafe! It was reminiscent of James's arrival in Laos when he was offered opium or women (or both!) at every corner as he walked the streets of Luang Prabang.

After my surreal breakfast, I hired a bike for the day (10,000KIP) and firstly cycled up to the Hmong Village of Hat Yao. According to the information in my Lonely Planet guide, it's an E.U Co-operative where the villagers sell a range of handicrafts - textiles, basketry, jewelry, and some clothing - at fixed prices. However I spent a good 30 minutes wandering around the village and couldn't find these handicrafts being sold. I even asked a couple of the villagers using the Lao word for 'shop', but I simply received vacant looks in response. So I can only assume that the village project is now defunct . . .

I subsequently began the 9km journey to That Phum Phuk, a large stupa atop a hill surrounded by rice fields. When it was originally built in 1628 it was the most respected and famous pagoda in the Nam Tha district. However, during the 2nd Indochina war, a bomb explosion knocked the jehdii (Lao name for Buddhist stupa) on it's side, where it remains undisturbed. In 2003 a new stupa was constructed and dedicated beside the ruins of old, and it is this gold structure that can be seen from the incredibly uneven dirt road running south from Luang Nam Tha.

The journey was well worth making, as much for the scenery and slices of village life along the way as for the actual stupa and the views from the top of the naga staircase that leads up to it.

After stopping off at The Boat House Landing Restaurant for some more of my favourite chilli paste (Jeow Mak Ken) and sticky rice, I cycled east across the Nam Tha to Ban Pa Sak. This is a Tai Dam village where you are - supposedly - able to observe Tai Dam silk weaving in action. Unfortunately when I arrived there wasn't a lot of action going on : the weaving looms were all in place but the weaver was fast asleep beside her loom!

If you don't mind the bad roads (which can be a little painful on your arse and the palms of your hands), Luang Nam Tha is a lovely area to cycle around : it's very flat, the scenery is very lush and green and there are many villages scattered around the town within a 10km radius, which is easily accessible on two wheels.

Luang Nam Tha Recommendations

Best food (and at very reasonable prices as it's off the main drag) : Panda Restaurant

Other recommendations :

Banana Cafe : you always see the same faces in here so it's a great place to strike up a conversation with fellow travelers. For food, the service is reasonably quick and the portions are large. Their menu also features the most original spelling for scrambled eggs that I've seen so far : "sceembli egg"

KNT : you can grab a bite to eat, check your emails and do a spot of shopping, all in the same vicinity. Fantastic!

Photo is of That Phum Phuk and surrounding rice fields, Luang Nam Tha.

Trek to the Sida and Lenten tribes

Luang Nam Tha

Luang Nam Tha is a mountainous province which is home to 39 different ethnic minorities. It is also home to the Nam Ha National protected area (NPA), a 2224sq.km area of dense evergreen and semi-evergreen submontane forests, which is home to many species of animals and birds. 22% of the province's population are Buddhists, with the majority of the population practising various forms of ancestor and spirit worship. Luang Nam Tha itself is a major trading centre for commerce between China, Thailand and Laos.

Here in Luang Nam Tha i had to settle for another one day trek as yet again there was a shortage of people signed up for a 2 or 3 day excursion. The trek on offer was to the Sida tribe, the same one Joy undertook a few days beforehand, and which she had thoroughly enjoyed.

Today got off to a bit of a bad start : i arrived at the Green Discovery office to pay the remaining balance on my trek and the price had gone up overnight from $18 to $24. Obviously i disputed the difference, and was informed that $18 is the price if there are 4 or more people participating and there are only 3. I pointed out that i wasn't disputing whether or not $24 was the correct price, but that the price i was quoted was $18 and i should not have to pay for the salesperson's mistake in quoting the wrong price to me. Maybe it's years of working in sales and customer service that makes me more intolerable to bad customer service, but as a salesperson, you cannot quote a price to someone, make a sale based on that price and then put the price up and expect your customer to be happy with it! I even offered to meet the guy half way and pay $21 (which is what he should have done for me at the very least) but he wouldn't budge. I had to pay an extra $6 or lose $10 (which was the deposit i'd paid). So reluctantly i paid the extra.

The other 2 people on my trek were a young couple, Andy and Kylie from Sunderland (just in the UK!), who'd been travelling since December the 2nd and had already passed through Malaysia, thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China before arriving in Laos. After travelling Asia, they're off to Australia on a 12 month working visa, and this is all part of a 'career break' with Barclays Bank! The lucky b*****ds are still getting paid bonuses and they left their jobs in October!

There was a lot more walking involved in today's trek, the majority through a jungle environment, with the cover of a variety of lush green plants and trees. We crossed several streams, one of which i managed to fall into when i lost my footing on the makeshift bridge! After about 3 hours of moderately tough walking, we stopped for lunch by the side of a small pathway leading to the Sida village which we would visit afterwards. Our guide Si laid out some banana leaves to use as a table and chairs and we shared a meal very similar to yesterday's : sticky rice and accompanying sauces and dips.

At the village we were allowed to walk around for a short time, the three of us all captivated by the sight of several recently new born puppies struggling to walk very steadily on their tiny paws. However the majority of our 1-2 hour visit was spent sat up at the school. Our guide did encourage us to ask questions but i would have preferred a more thorough tour of the village and some time to simply witness these people interacting with each other in their natural environment. For about half an hour our guide was actually asleep in the sun whilst Andy, Kylie and i discussd the concept of drinking snake blood and eating your dog!

The last 2 hours of the trek were mostly downhill and finished up at the Lenten village of Ban Nam Di, 6km north east of Luang Nam Tha. The villagers practice the art of bamboo papermaking. They turn bamboo into pulp along the banks of the Nam Di adjacent to the village, and then spread the pulp into thin sheets over square cotton screens to produce a rustic papaer on which they record religious literature. The paper is also used extensively in the handicraft industry.

I did enjoy the trek but our guide, conscientious as he was for the most part, had only worked for Green Discovery for 3 months - and it showed. We arrived back in Luang Nam Tha at around 4pm so i spent a couple of hours sat outside in the sun at KMT (handicraft shop/internet cafe/eating establishment) drinking Lao coffee and watching the world go by.

Photo is of a basket weaver at the Sida village, Near Luang Nam Tha

The Akha experience

Today was great fun, but unfortuantely, due to the other three guys on the trek (an Israeli, a German and a Frenchman) needing to catch the last songthaew back to Luang Nam Tha, our trek was cut short by the best part of two hours. In my opinion they shouldn't have booked the trek if they weren't going to be around for the duration. At the very least, Joy and i should have been informed about the situation upon booking the trek ourselves.

Negative aspects aside, we had a good crowd of people, a reasonably well-informed guide, Kiaow, and some fantastic Akha children, which was one of the highlights for me. We caught a songthaew to the first Akha village, where our guide gave us some backround information about the various Akha tribes in the area and about the structure of the village. We had a good bit of time to wander around the village and to capture the curious but wary children on camera.

Kiaow explained to us that if we wished to photograph any of the adults, we must ask permission first, as some of the villagers are very reluctant to let you photograph them due to their animist beliefs. Animists believe that there is a spirit inside all of us (our Khwan) and some think that by taking a photograph we are stealing that spirit from them.

We trekked to the second Akha village through forsets and rice fields. Here the children (as most of the adults were out at work in the rice fields) were a lot friendlier and more openly curious about our presence. Joy and i initiated a game of 'paper scissors stone' with one of the boys, counted to 10 with him in Lao and then began to talk to him in English, broken with the occasional Lao word or expression. Once the rest of the children spotted this, they all began to crowd around, wanting to join in.

The children's interest was really arisen when our guide was talking us through the details of the Akha attire and customs. He proceeded to point at my lip piercing and talk to the children in Lao. Presumably what he was explaining was that my piercing is representative of my culture, just as their headdress/clothing/jewellery are of theirs. Either way, they were completely absorbed, even more so when i poked my tongue out at them to reveal my psychedellic tongue bar. Stefan (the Frenchman) also had his tongue pierced so the next few minutes consisted of the children poking their tongues out at us, us returning the gesture, the children making faces of disgust and saying "eeurrgh!", but wanting us to do it all over again! We then injected a bit of education into the fun, teaching them the English names for parts of the body, almost to the point where we had a bit of a song going.

I really didn't want to say goodbye to these kids, nor they us. They followed us all the way down to the bottom of the hill which lead us out of the village, waving and shouting the generic "Sabaii-dii!". We eventually bid farewell to their smiling faces as we crossed the stream and continued on into the forest on the other side.

The walk to the third village consisted of some tougher uphill trekking, but without the shade of the trees as they had all been chopped down (through encouragement from the government) to make way for the planting of rice and rubber trees. The third village was a Hmong village, dirtier, chubbier children but oozing charm and fighting for their space in front of the lens.

We walked a little further from this village to have our (late) lunch by a picturesque little pond, before catching the songthaew back to Muang Sing. Joy and i decided that as the trek had finished early we'd catch the songthaew with the guys, so she would be able to leave for Huay Xai the next morning and i would (hopefully) have an extra day trekking in Luang Nam Tha.

We got back to Luang Nam Tha around 5pm, checked into the Darasavath Guesthouse ($2 each) and went out for dinner at the Manychan Restaurant.

Photo is of one of the many adorable little Akha children we met on our trek, Muang Sing.

The long journey from Vang Vieng to Muang Sing

I got up early this morning (even before the staff at my guesthouse were awake so i had to leave my key and $6 under the front desk!) with the intention of catching the first bus of the day up to Luang Prabang, as i know how difficult James said it was to find accommodation when he first arrived. I should have realised, as the bus companies seem to have done, that i was in the party capital of Laos, as the first bus didn't leave until 9am. So i had an hour and a half to kill, which i chose to spend at the Organic Mulberry Cafe grabbing a spot of breakfast and reading an interseting article on anarchy, which was handed to me by a traveller sat at the only other occupied table in the establishment.

The bus journey was by mini bus (as it appears that public buses do not run the Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang route) so $8 and 7 hours later i was back in Lunag Prabang - for the third time! I was not really in the mood for socialising this evening but the Japanese guy, Endi, who i was talking to when we stopped for lunch, decided to jump into the same tuk tuk as me, check into the same guesthouse and then ask me out to dinner. As i was only in Luang Prabang for one night, it seemed rude to refuse. So we ate at a restaurant right opposite the bakery on Sisavangvong Road, with the bubbliest, dizziest, and most enthusiastic waitress i've had the pleasure of encountering.

Luang Prabang - Udomaxi - Luang Nam Tha

I shared my breakfast table this morning with the tiniest little kitten. He hopped up on to my lap, paws on the table, peered over my bowl of noodle soup and stayed there until the cafe owner spotted him, picked him up by the scruff of his neck and deposited him rather carelessly into a back room.

When i got to the bus station, it soon became apparent that there was no bus directly to Luang Nam Tha from Luang Prabang : it involved a change at Udomaxi. Due to getting off the bus at the 1st toilet stop, i lost my seat and had the pleasure of being stuck on a small plastic stool in the aisle for the remainder of the 5 hour journey.

This was followed by a 2 hour wait at Udomaxi and another 4 hour bus journey to Luang Nam Tha (total cost 63,000KIP), which meant arriving at our destination at 8pm. Luang Nam Tha is not very well lit at night so i chaecked into the first guesthouse i spotted, The Bus Station Guesthouse ($3.50 for bamboo hut with private bathroom). I managed to find somewhere to eat (The Panda Restaurant) but the only internet cafe i'd seen on my way in had shut down by 9pm - as had most of the town.

Luang Nam Tha - Muang Sing

Had a bit of a wander around Luang Nam Tha's Morning Market before catching the Songthaew (17,000KIP, 1.5hrs) to Muang Sing. I checked into the Thi-Lu Guesthouse for $2 per night (not quite as cheap as sharing with James in Muang Ngoi but for the equivalent of 1.12 i have my own private bathroom, albeit with a very cold shower!) and then sampled their restaurant food for lunch. I had Mak Kaew, which is a local peppery chilli paste with vegetables for dipping and sticky rice. It's the only restaurant in Muang Sing that serves this dish (apparently) and i shall be asking whether i can buy some to take with me!

Muang Sing

Muang Sing sits on the river plains of the Mam La, 10km from the Chinese border. Muang Sing is a traditional Thai Lu and Thai Neua cultural nexus as well as a trade centre for Thai Dam, Akha, Hmong, Mien, Lolo and Yunnanese. The town itself is dominated by Thai-Lu (30% of total) and the surrounding hills by Akha (45% of total).

This afternoon i did a walking tour of the town, a town which i expected to be over-run with tourists due to the fact that it seems to be earning a reputation among travelers as THE place to go trekking in Laos. However once you leave the main street, Muang Sing is incredibly rural : little bamboo huts with thatched roofs, women washing their hair in the street with a huge wooden bucket of water, little children staring at you like they've never seen another foreigner before, and the older ones approaching you to practice their English and wanting to know everything about you. There wasn't another tourist in sight until i reached the Muang Sing Tourist Information & Trekking Guide Service Centre.

I had planned to do a 2 day trek here but the agency, in a bid to protect the environment and control the impact of toursim on the local villages, will not run treks AT ALL unless the appropriate number of people show an interest. Even then, they will only run treks to certain areas on certain days. No-one had shown an interest in a 2 day trek for tomorrow and in keeping with the eco-tourism bid, there was only one 1 day trek on offer.

Whilst enquiring about the trek, i got chatting to an Australian lady, Joy (who i'd imagine was a bit of a hippy in her day) who was also interested in the same trek. For $10 we both decided to go ahead and book it, went for coffee together afterwards (oh how i love Lao coffee!) and i joined her for dinner later at the Viengxay Restaurant.

Photo is of a typical street scene in Muang Sing.

Tubing down the Nam Song

Full day trekking, Caving and Tubing with Riverside Tours

Cost : $15 but I think it drops to around $10 if more than 4 people sign up

I did contemplate exactly how exciting the whole experience would be on my own but on the other hand, I didn't have a lot of choice based on the limited time I had in Vang Vieng.

To be completely honest, I'm not sure Riverside Tours should be in the Lonely Planet guidebook. I enjoyed the tubing immensely but the remainder of the tour was hugely let down by the fact that my guide only had a limited grasp of the English language. My questions received replies but rarely answers giving me the information I'd requested. Maybe I was spoilt with Dam at Nam Rin Tours in Mae Hong Son (Thailand) but the purpose of a tour guide is to provide you with a bit of backround information about the places you have come to see, to inject a bit of fun into the day and to satisfactorily answer any questions you pose. A good tour guide will totally enrich the experience for you. All mine kept telling me was how "beautiful" everything was, a fact I'd already been quite capable of noticing myself.

Firstly we visited Tham Hoi and Tham Loup. Tham Loup was the more interesting of the two, with some impressive stalacmites and stalactites. we then went on a short trek to reach Tham Nam (water cave), so named because a tributary of the Nam Song flows out of its entrance. The water was shallow enough to be able to wade through the cave, but dragging yourself through the tunnel on a fixed rope whilst sitting in a huge inflatable rubber ring was a lot more fun!

I had lunch at Ban Tham Sang with a group of others (2 Canadian guys, 2 Swedish girls and an English guy) who were on a kayaking trip, and I started to wish I'd done kayaking instead . . .

After lunch we had a brief look around the Elephant Cave (a cave which contains Buddha images, a Buddha footprint and an elephant shaped stalactite that gives the cave it's name) before walking (it could hardly be called a trek) to one of the local villages to watch women doing embroidery and children scrambling around on a bamboo raft on the river.

We then caught a Songthaew to Phoudindaeng Organic Farm (near Vang Vieng) to complete a 3km tubing trip down the Nam Song. Tubing down this stretch of the Nam Song has become so popular with backpackers passing through Vang Vieng that several 'bars' have been set up along the banks of the river.

Tubing is an extremely fun and chilled out way to spend an afternoon : floating down the Nam Song in the blazing sunshine to the sounds of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Bob Marley. On the journey downstream you'll see crowds of people queuing up to do 'water jumping', which basically involves climbing a bamboo ladder up to a platform and then swinging like a trapeeze artist over the river before deciding at which point you want to let go and make your impressive splash in the water.

There are also tourists who have succumbed to the incessant shouts of "Beer Lao, Beer Lao!" and are sat on the banks of the Nam Song enjoying their liquid refreshment and watching their fellow tubers float on by. Residents of the scattering of guesthouses (i.e. bamboo huts) that have been set up right on the river as you get closer to Vang Vieng, are sunning themselves on their bamboo balconies. There are fishermen (and women) wading through the water with their nets, and then there are the Lao children playing in the water. You get the odd Lao child clinging on to your rubber ring or trying to pull you down stream, and then asking you for money for doing so! The little entrepreneurs!

Final thoughts on Vang Vieng

Come here for the stunning scenery that surrounds this little traveler's mecca. Come here if you want to follow the hoards of other tourists and spend your days tubing or kayaking down the Nam Song. Come here if you want to be able to drink well into the early hours of the morning (the bar owners do not close their doors until you are the last person to leave!) or if you want to spend your evenings getting high with friends in one of the numerous bars serving space shakes and pizzas, or simply selling bags of the herbs they sprinkle on top of your Margherita! Don't come here if you want to escape tourists (Vang Vieng is riddled with them!), westernisation, football or episodes of Friends!

Photo is of two Lao women with large melons!

Arrival in Vang Vieng

Vientiane - Vang Vieng (4.5 hrs 20,000 KIP)

The first thing i noticed when i arrived in Vang Vieng was the stunning scenery that provides a backdrop to this little town. The second thing i noticed when i left the bus station was that i'd walked on to a construction site! This is 10 times worse than what i saw in Luang Prabang : there are huge gaping holes between the road and the pathway (if you can call it a pathway!), there are huge piles of rubble, half-dry cement, and the continuous noise from the construction vehicles which occupy every road in this very small town.

The town is a strange mix of traditional village life and extreme urbanisation and westernisation : almost every cafe (and there are plenty of them) is advertising western food and when you look inside they are filled with Westerners fixated on the T.V in front of them, watching endless episodes of Friends. Lonely Planet did not lie!

Seeing not a lot else to do in this town other than join this zombie nation, i decided to take a walk over to the other side of one of the bamboo bridges that cross the Nam Song. For this priviledge i had to pay 2000 KIP! Over the other side of the bridge was a sign to Lusi cave (2km). I followed the arrows directing me on a pathway through ricefields and towards the limestone mountains that surround Vang Vieng. After approximately 30 minutes of walking i came to a small opening through some trees. I paid my 5000KIP to the guy at the entrance and proceeded to begin a very precarious climb up some rocks and very unstable bamboo ladders. In parts there was a sheer drop below the rocks and no safety fence, and if i'd have lost my footing i may not be here to tell the tale.

At the top , yes there was a stunning view of the countryside surrounding Vang Vieng but not a cave in sight. I'm not sure what kind of con was going on here with the non-existent cave but it certainly wasn't a very safe one!

This evening i followed Lonely Planet's recommendation to eat at The Organic Mulberry cafe. However, not only had they run out of mulberry shakes at the Mulberry cafe but the waiters didn't seem to know whether they were coming or going : i ended up with about 4 drinks when i'd only ordered one! Moreover, the food took about 40 minutes to arrive, although it was very tasty when it did eventually do so.

After eating i booked a caving, tubing a trekking excursion for tomorrow and went in search of a bar that didn't have a T.V, and a very empty search it turned out to be. All the pretty little drinking establishments i'd seen earlier on down by the river seemed to have already said goodbye to their last customers. My best option seemed to be the Keomani Restaurant, a popular bar with seating on the floor, mood lighting provided by little paper lanterns, and the words Magic Mushrooms grafitied flamboyantly on the wall. However, what really sold it to me was the fact that the chilled out music was playing loud enough to drown out the football on T.V.

I spent the evening in the Keomani getting drunk to the sounds of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers with a long-haired German hippy called Dominic, and eventually stumbled back to my guesthouse at 3am, contemplating the fact that i had to be awake for an activity-filled day within the next 5hrs!

Photo is a view of Vang Vieng's limestone mountains, as viewed from the other side of the bamboo bridge.

10 hours on a bus to the 'Sandlewood City'

Vientiane

Vientiane means 'Sandlewood City'. It is actually pronounced "Wieng Chan", Wieng means 'city' or 'place with walls' in Lao and Chan is the Lao pronounciation of the Sanskrit "Chandana', meaning 'sandlewood.' Vientiane was originally one of the early Lao city states that were consolidated around A.D 1000. It has since been controlled by the Vietnamese, Burmese, Siamese and Khmers, before becoming a French protectorate in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century Vientiane was named the capital of Laos and it remains so under communist rule today.

I took the very enduring 10 hour bus journey down to the capital, complete with the normal random toilet stops by the side of the road when there's a village only a few kilometres further. I spent half the journey sat on the back seat next to (what was presumably and hopefully) the security guard on the bus, who's gun was laid across his lap, the piston facing in my direction. For the second half of the journey i had to tolerate a Lao guy (who squeezed himself in between me and the man with the gun) continually falling asleep on my shoulder. After moving his head on about 20 occasions, only to have it return to my shoulder as soon as the bus turned a bend, i simply had to let him sleep, as every other seat on the bus was occupied.

Once i arrived in Vientiane i had a quick scout around for an ATM but with no avail, so i spent the evening aimlessly wandering Vientiane's streets, thinking about how much i detest the Lao currency, and finally retiring to my bed - early.

The Lao Currency

Even though USD are legal tender in Laos, you are always given your change in KIP, and the majority of Exchange booths will only issue KIP in exchange for USD travellers cheques, so pretty soon after entering the country you will find yourself having to deal in KIP. The lowest denomination KIP note is 1000, which is equivalent to 6p; the highest denomination KIP note is equivalent to 1.12. so this creates 2 problems :

1. You always have a huge wad of money with you, even if you're only carrying 10 pounds
2. Due to the fact that you always have a huge wad of money with you, it gives you the misleading impression that you actually have lots of money, when really you only have 10 pounds!

Eureka!

The international ATM in Vientiane is on Pangkham Road, on the same side as the vegetarian cafe 'Just For Fun.' The only glitch is that the maximum withdrawl at any one time is 700,000 which is approximately 40 pounds. As a result of this i had to make several visits to the ATM and subsequently incur several commission charges.

With my money situation sorted, i grabbed a mango shake at Just For Fun and formulated a plan for the day. I walked up to the Lao Immigration office to extend my 15 day visa : with the detour down to Vientiane, the logistics of me making it up to Muang Sing, doing a trek AND making it out of the country before the 22nd were nigh on impossible.

Visa Extension

I made my application just after 9am, and it was ready for me to collect by 3pm. It costs $2 per day but if you're paying in KIP they add a nice little commission charge on top.

As i was in the district, i walked across to the Morning Market. There are hundreds upon hunderds of silk woven scarves and skirts for sale but not much else in the way of handicrafts. The food, however, was fantastic. I had one of the tastiest noodle soups i've eaten whilst in Laos for just 8000KIP (45p)

One thing i've noticed about Vientiane is the heat. When i left my guesthouse at around 8am it was the same temperature i've been used to in the middle of the day. When i walked up to Patuxai (a large monument resembling the Arc De Triomphe in Paris), it was almost unbearable. It's not a particularly attractive building but you can climb the stairs inside for a good view of Vientiane from the top of the monument.

Pha That Luang

Pha That Luang is, according to Lonely Planet, "the most important national monument in Laos." It's a symbol of both the Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignity. As well as the impressive temple here, it's also the site of a huge Bodhi tree. So if you read this James, i've collected you a better and greener bodhi leaf!

Wat Si Saket

Wat Si Saket was built in 1818 by Chao Anon, making it perhaps Vientiane's oldest surviving temple. The interior walls of the cloister are riddled with small niches that contain over 2000 silver and ceramic Buddha images. Over 300 standing and seated Buddhas of varying sizes and materials are situated on the long shelves below the niches, most of them sculpted in characteristic Lao style (Calling For Rain or Contemplating the Bodhi tree postures). The grounds of the Wat are planted with coconut, banana and mango trees.

Haw Pha Kaew

Once a royal temple built specifically to house the famed Emerald Buddha, Haw Pha Kaew is now a museum of religious art. Built in 1565 by command of King Setthathirat, the Siamese stole the emerald buddha in 1779 and installed it in its current place of residence, Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.

Final thoughts on Vientiane

For a capital city, it's a pleasant enough place and not without character. However, it's not the place to come if you want to see an accurate depiction of Laos : it's very cosmopolitan in the sense that it's very difficult to find Lao food here, unless you eat at one of the outdoor markets (Full Moon Cafe does pretty good Asian fusion food). The streets are lined with upmarket cafes such as Sticky Fingers and Jo-Ma, which wouldn't look out of place in any European city. One of Vientiane's merits however, over somewhere like Luang Prabang, is that it's not over-run with Westerners. Even in the area between Sethathirit Road and the Mekong, where all the guesthouses are situated, it's very rare to see Lao people outnumbered by tourists.

Photo is of Naga headed Buddha under the Bodhi tree at Pha That Luang, Vientiane.

Sunsets and goodbyes

This morning consisted of another noodle soup breakfast and the not so scenic but quicker bus journey back to Luang Prabang. After lunch at the bakery restaurant, we had a rather boring but constructive afternoon : James organised his flights and other transportation down to Ko Lipe and i investigated the easiest and cheapest method of getting hold of some more money and the process involved in extending my 15 day visa by a few extra days.

Initially when i planned to enter Laos (before the prospect of meeting up with James arose) i had planned to head up to Luang Nam Tha and Muang Sing from Huay Xai and then back down to Lunag Prabang (via Udomaxi) and on through to Vang Vieng and Vientiane. Due to having to pay the majority of my speedboat fee in dollars and making the diversion to Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi, i now do not have enough money or time to complete the loop up to Luang Nam Tha and Muang Sing AND get down to Vientiane. Wiring money is expensive (about 60 quid)and takes time, so my only option is to take a detour straight down to Vientiane when James leaves.

We spent the evening firstly down at a little restaurant right on the beach (which James had spotted on the boat out to Nong Khiaw) to watch the sunset, and then headed up to Lao Lao Garden (right next to the popular Westerner's hangout, The Hive Bar) warming ourselves around a huge camp fire, which was the focal point of the pretty outside seating area.

I'm very glad our paths were able to cross once more, and that i had someone to share the fantastic experiences of the past week with. However, the longer you spend with someone you've found a bond with, the harder it becomes to see them leave. I don't know that i'll ever be able to meet up with James again but i know that we'll stay in touch for sure. We had a lovely breakfast the following morning at a cafe right on the Mekong, before he departed in a tuk tuk bound for the airport to start his mission down to Ko Lipe, and i checked into the Mala Guesthouse (couldn't afford Silichith's $9 per night on my own) and spent the afternoon sipping banana shakes and updating this journal.

I also wandered around a few of Luang Prabang's temples and in the evening, no meat eater to consider, i finally got to eat at the vegetarian buffet at the Night Market. It was probably one of the tastiest ways to spend 5,000 KIP.

Photo is of sunset over the Mekong viewed from the little beachside restaurant where James and i spent the last night in Luang Prabang.

Row row row your boat (no so) gently down the stream!

We all started the day with some noodle soup from one of the street stalls just next door to Neet's store, and some banana fritters (a whole banana coated in dough and deep fried which cooks the banana to make it all sweet and gooey) to go from another stall a bit further along. It was a beautiful morning for paddling : after the rain a couple of days ago, the cloud had now lifted reasonably early, so by the time we began our voyage, the sun was shining its bright little face down upon us. Not long after setting off, we discovered a small hole in the bottom of the boat. A little piece of tissue seemed to hold back the majority of the water but i still had to bail a little more frequently than i'd anticipated! It was a beautiful picture aboard ship : Meesha at the front, shirtless, with his T-shirt tied around his head like a pirate ; me stripped down to my bikini in an attempt to catch some rays whilst frequently interchanging between paddling (probably very unprofessionally!) and bailing ; and James (also shirless with his hairy chest on display!) acting the real captain of the ship at the stern, shouting orders of "draw!" and "river left!" or "river right!" The comedy element was highlighted even further by the fact that, in a neat little line on a raised platform in the middle of the boat, were our few surviving banana fritters (the rest were a little soggy after our first rapids encounter) drying in the sun. The few sets of rapids we passed through were brilliant fun (mainly due to the fact that i had two very competent captains aboard my ship), but for the majority of our 3 hour journey back to Nong Khiaw, the river was calm and peaceful, with not a single other boat in sight. Half the way back, to give the old arms a bit of a rest, we pulled the boat ashore at a small beach, took some silly photographs, went for a refreshing swim, and fed the remaining banana fritters to whatever fish lay below the partially cloudy surface of the river. For the final kilometre or so, we stopped paddling and just floated downstream in the sunshine, savouring the experience just a little while longer. Once back in Nong Khiaw we all checked into the Bookshop Guesrhouse right on the river (not entirely sure of its name but on the sign outside it simply read "Bookshop. Guesthouse." ) We got chatting to a South African girl, Heida, who was sitting out on the balcony next to Meesha's bamboo hut. The four of us went for a very late lunch and then got some take out beer Lao and all congregated on Heida's balcony. Several hours and several beer Lao later, the congregation had moved drunkenly down to the veranda and Heida was asleep on the floor! Final thoughts on Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi Nong Khiaw is a stunning place but Muang Ngoi feels like a slightly truer slice of Lao village life. Although it attracts slightly more tourists than Nong Khiaw, this does not detract at all from the beauty and authenticity of this sleepy little village tucked away in the mountains. Photo is of James (not looking very happy about the whole ordeal!) and i and our trusty paddle boat that got us safely downstream from Muang Ngoi to Nong Khiaw.

Fishing voyage up the Nam Ou

We rose early this morning in order to formulate the plans James, Meesha and I discussed yesterday, to hire a paddle boat back to Nong Khiaw. Both James and Meesha are experienced Kayakers and Canoeers and are confident they can safely navigate us through a few 'Class 2' rapids along the route back from Muang Ngoi. My job would be to paddle and bail the water out the boat when necessary!

We spoke to monkey man Neet (he has no use of one of his legs and only partial use of the other, so he walks around on the strength of his arms, like a monkey) who confirmed that the price would be $30 to hire the boat (which included the fuel costs for his motor boat so that he could make the same journey separately with our bags and then transport the paddle boat back up to Muang Ngoi) and reluctantly agreed to let us pay once our belongings were returned to us the other end. He showed us the boat we would be traveling in and after debating its sea-worthiness, we all decided to live dangerously and give it a shot. We weren't worried about it capsizing but the top of the boat sat very close to the water, so there was a danger that a lot of water could get into the boat once we hit some rapids.

Once our little adventure was all organized and the clouds had lifted after the rains of last night, Meesha embarked upon an independent trek to some of the local villages, whilst James and I sorted out our own little fishing voyage with Neet. We didn't actually get to do a lot of fishing ourselves but James was interested in the Laotian fishing methods and their effectiveness.

The basic concept is a long net with weights on the bottom and corks on the top to keep it afloat. Once the fishermen have decided which area of the river to target, they lay the net around it, usually attaching either end to a tree branch on the shore, and then hit the water with force using a long bamboo stick. This is designed to frighten the fish so that they swim towards the net and their gills get caught in the holes.

We were witness to this technique on about 4 separate occasions on different parts of the river, and a total of around 20 fish were caught. The name James knows them by is "Tinfoil" due to the colour of their skin. They look quite similar to goldfish only a little on the larger side.

Once the mission to catch the fish was accomplished, we collected some firewood and some bamboo to use as skewers in order to cook the fish. We pulled up on a tiny rock outcrop in the middle of the river. Neet and friend had the fire going in a matter of seconds. We used rock salt and garlic to marinade the fish and then cooked them over the open fire.

Those little tinfoil have to be THE freshest fish I've ever tasted. Barbecued tinfoil (have to give them an alternative name if serving this up in a posh restaurant!) marinated in rock salt and garlic, served with sticky rice and hot chilli sauce. Very simple but very tasty, and so much more authentic than ordering fish from a restaurant in the village.

Fishing trip : $4 each for 3 hours, meal included.

This evening James, Meesha nad I ate at Sengdala Restaurant and decided, after the food had been consumed, that it was about time we sampled the infamous Lao Lao. After doing so I decided it wasn't something I was going to do again! (at least not neat!) It's certainly a very potent whisky and I like the effect it had (according to Meesha James and I were away with the fairies on the way home, taking random photographs of palm trees and the moon!) but I'm not sure I'd want to go through the whole process involved in finding that effect!

Photo is one James took of Neet and friend preparing our meal of marinated Tinfoil!

Cave swimming at Muang Ngoi

I was reminded this morning of one aspect of Lao or Thai life that i won't miss : chickens! I can't remember the last time i wasn't woken by chickens, and this morning was no exception!

We ate breakfast at the Sunset Restaurant (pumpkin soup with coconut milk & egg, i wouldn't recommend it!) before catching the 11am boat upstream to Muang Ngoi Neua (1 hour, 15,000KIP). On the boat James and i chatted to a Russian guy called Meesha (phonetically spelt, it's actually probably spelt more like Michael) who resides in New York but has been travelling through Asia for 15 months, and the 3 of us checked in to the Saylom Guesthouse, which has a super friendly owner who was never without a smile on his face and a greeting of "Sabaii-dii!"

Muang Ngoi Neua

The locals actually just refer to this place as Muang Ngoi, as this was it's original name. Muang comes from "meuang" which means a district or town, or in ancient times, a city state. Ngoi means cape or peninsula which describes the situation of Muang Ngoi. Many of the residents of Nong Khiaw used to reside in Muang Ngoi. However, since the construction of the bridge at Nong Khiaw allowed the road to span the Nam Ou, residents moved down river to take advantage of easier access to the markets in order to sell their crops and fish.

James and i thought that Nong Khiaw could not be improved upon, but it can. Muang Ngoi offers similar scenery to Nong Khiaw but a lot more spectacular. The village consists of one dirt street (there are no roads because there are no cars), there are no TV's, no internet and electricity works on a generator, and very often doesn't work at all. The only street in the town is lined with bamboo huts and coconut palms, little village shops, and the sight of the odd fisherman mending his net and children playing marbles or hopscotch.

James, Meesha and I decided to venture out to a couple of caves that were a few kilometres outside the village. It takes approximately 45 minutes on foot to reach the first cave, Tham Kang (Middle Cave). The water was crystal clear and you could even see the tiniest of fish swimming around the rocks. Unfortunately James and i had failed to realise how deep the cave ran or that you could actually swim inside it, so we hadn't brought our swimming gear or a flashlight. Fortunately Meesha had both, so we borrowed his flashlight, and went swimming in the clothes on our backs!

The second cave, Tham Pha Kaew (Holy Image Cave), was a further 5 minute walk. it was smaller and you couldn't swim in it , and in my opinion it wasn't really worth a look. There was supposed to be a small stone Buddha image inside, but after 20 minutes of crawling around and being laughed at by 2 Lao guys who were on their way to polish of the bottle of Lao Lao (home-brewed whisky) they'd just purchased, we decided that we'd probably seen enough Buddhas on our trip and one more was not really going to make our lives any more complete! So we headed back to the village and stopped off to watch some Lao kids play a brilliant game of Kataw (volleyball using your feet and a small wicker ball).

In the evening we ate at Lattanavongsa Restaurant (right next to our guesthouse) with Meesha and a Spanish guy called Mikell (again phonetically spelt, i think his name is probably a version of Michael as well!). By 9pm the sleepy village of Muang Ngoi was very much asleep. James and i returned to our riverside bamboo hut and lay very uncomfotably in our hammocks, chatting by the light of a single candle on our balcony.

Photo is of the entrance to Tham Kang, Muang Ngoi

Riding the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers to Nong Khiaw

We almost missed our very crowded little motor boat to Nong Khiaw this morning. Despite not getting a seat, i rather preferred our seating arrangement : behind the driver on cushions on the floor, plenty of room to spread our legs and plenty of sun glorious sun! The scenery we passed through was awesome : imposing mountains and caves interspersed with tiny Lao villages on the rivers edge. We also witnessed several groups of Lao children bathing in the water, fishing, swimming or climbing on the rocks. From the moment they saw our boat approaching, they would jump up, wave frantically and greet us with calls of "Sabaai-dii!", their cheerful faces lit up like they didn't have a care in the world.

Boat journey Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw

• Boats leave daily at 9am
• Cost from $9 - $12 depending on which travel agent you buy your ticket from
• Journey takes approximately 7hrs
• Boat makes only 1 'toilet stop' on a deserted beach so be prepared for the lack of privacy!
• There are no stops for food (unless you count a couple of handfuls of the driver's sticky rice!) or drink so bring your own

When we arrived at Nong Khiaw we were blown away and definitely agreed we'd made the right decision on our chosen destination : brightly painted paddle boats rocking gently on the calm blue water, which glistened in the sun. Bamboo huts nestled high up on the banks of the river and towering mountains rising up behind them, the tops of the mountains disappearing into the clouds scattered across the sky.

We searched out Bamboo Paradise Guesthouse on a recommendation from a Dutch guy we spoke to when we arrived. $4 per night bought us our own little bamboo hut with balcony (and 2 little wicker chairs) overlooking the imposing stone bridge which linked the two sides of the village across the Nam ou river. It had a pretty garden decorated with (amongst other things) dismantled bombs and strange little straw figures hanging from the trees!

Electricity was very limited in Nong Khiaw so most of our evening was spent by candlelight at the Sunset Restaurant. It was the first place in Laos that i'd seen river moss (a Lao speciality) on the menu so we decided to be brave and give our tastebuds a treat. We were not disappointed : it's dried, cooked in oil and garlic and coated in sesame seeds, and tastes delicious.

Lao food is a lot less spicy than Thai food, so even if you ask for it "very very spicy" (as James does), it isn't going to blow the roof of your mouth off by any stretch of the imagination. It's also a lot easier to get vegetarian food here than i'd imagined. Almost every menu i've seen has a vegetarian or "Vegetable" section.

Photo is of some of the Lao children who greeted us on the boat journey to Nong Khiaw

Lazy days in Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a town encircled by mountains and set 700m above sea level at the confluence of the Nam Khan and the Mekong river. Luang Prabang's streets are lined with crumbling French colonial architecture, towering coconut palms, and orange-wrapped Buddhist monks who still occupy 32 of the original 66 historic temples built before the era of French colonisation.

James and i started the day with a Canadian style breakfast : strong Lao coffee (Nam Nom) and a large chocolate donut to share, before climbing the steps up to the 100m high Mount Phu Si. 24m high That Chomsi (erected 1804) sits at the summit but what you really make the climb for is the spectacular view across Luang Prabang and the Khan and Mekong rivers. We picked a lovely time of day to make the climb : just as the morning mist had lifted to reveal a perfectly clear blue sky.

On the descent from the summit is the site of a holy Boddhi tree, where we felt like very foolish tourists scouring the ground for a perfect heart-shaped Boddhi leaf. Apparently they're quite a valuable item to own here in Laos!

Our afternoon was spent wandering around the handicraft markets and debating whether to take the "tuk tuk waterfall" being offered to us at every corner. Ultimately we decided that the number of tuk tuk drivers offering the ride up to the waterfall must either mean it's swarming with tourists or not very impressive and therefore not worth the $15 journey up there. Alternatively, maybe we're just drifting into the laid back Lao way of life . . .

As the sun went down the streets of Sisavangvong road were lined with hundreds of food and handicraft stalls which formed part of Luang Prabang's night market. It's one of the better night markets i've seen, and if you want to buy one of the hand woven silk scarves or shawls or skirts (actually made in Luang Prabang itself) then you'll get the best price at the night market. James looked like he was finally having fun with the whole bartering idea! The night market is also a great place to eat : Vegetarian or Vegan buffets for 5,000KIP (approximately 25p). However, as James likes his meat we went back to Tom Tom Bamboo for the biggest meal i've eaten throughout my entire trip : fresh spring rolls with vegetables and sweet chilli sauce & deep fried cuttle fish, and those were just the starters! Good job James was paying!

Photo is of the orange-wrapped Buddhist monks seen everywhere on the streets of Luang Prabang.

Mission nearly-impossible!

Pai to Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai - Chiang Rai to Chang Khong - Chang Khong - Huay Xai (Laos) - Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. Time completed : 2 days!

My original plan after Pai was to head back into Chiang Mai (which i did) and then to take a leisurely journey up to the border, stopping off at Phrae, Nan, Chiang Rai, and possibly Chiang Saen and Chang Khong, which would have taken me approximately 1-2 weeks. However i'd received an email from James who had just arrived in Luang Prabang, and as a result i decided to be a little impulsive (heck, why not? It's what travelling is all about!) and go on a rather large adventure by missioning it all the way to Luang Prabang in just 2 days!!!

I caught the first bus out of Pai (0830) up to Chiang Mai. We helped to stop the passengers of a broken down bus en route, and as a result ended up with a bus overflowing with people, so full there were people hanging out the doors, and if a passenger inside the bus wanted to disembark, it involved about half the people on the bus having to do the same! We also had a roof loaded with bags of rice and vegetables and random cardboard boxes with heavy contents, which meant that the bus seriously struggled as soon as it hit a hill (and it hit quite a few) and the 4 hour journey actally took over 5!

By the time i reached Chiang Rai it was dark and a swarm of touts homed in on my as soon as i stepped of the bus. I didn't have the patience or the inclination to stand there and listen to them or to accept the handful of guesthouse flyers that were being pushed aggressively in my direction, so i walked for 20 minutes, backpack and all, to the other side of town where Chiang Rai's cluster of guesthouses are situated. I stayed at the Lotus Guesthouse (80THB per night), which i subsequently discovered was a favourite with Korean tourists, so i was the only westerner there. The rooms aren't up to much but the Korean owners are super friendly, and there's a pretty garden with a restaurant that serves - no surprises here - Korean food.

I was a little disappointed by my first impressions of Chaing Rai. It reminded me of Ayuthaya : very spread out (the guesthouses are about a 20-25 minute walk from the centre of town) and very little character. Yes, Chiang Rai provides a good base from which to explore the Golden Triangle and the surrounding hilltribe villages but the town itself offers nothing unique or spectacular.

Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang

I had an incredibly early start this morning so i arrived in Chang Khong before 10:30am. Gaining entry into Laos consisted of taking a 5 minute boat journey from Chang Khong to Huay Xai, completing a couple of short forms and giving the guy at passport control a passport photo and $30. 10 minutes after leaving Chang Khong i was a legal visitor in Laos. One of the first things i noticed about Laos (apart from the different language, currency and the fact that they drive on the right hand side of the road) was how under-developed it was in comparison to Thailand, and what bad conditions the roads were in - if you could call them roads!

My journey up to this point had run fairly smoothly, but when i arrived at the speed boat pier in Huay Xai, the situation started to get a little more interesting. I was under the impression that crowds of people everyday take the same route from the border to Luang Prabang and that finding another 5 tourists to share a speed boat with would not be a problem. I was very wrong. When i pulled up at the pier in my little Lao tuk tuk, there were no other passengers waiting to charter the speed boat, which meant that the cost (should the driver take soley me) would be 6000THB! So i waited for about an hour an a half before 2 Japanese tourists arrived, and they only wanted to go as far as Pak Beng, which still meant that if they pay 1500THB each, i would still have to part with 3000THB. I needed to make a prompt decision as the speed boat would need to get into Luang Prabang before sundown. Considering i'd waited nearly 2 hours for 2 other passengers, i had no guarantee that, should i stop overnight in Huay Xai, more passengers (if any) would show up the following day. With that information, i decided to bite the bullet and pay the 3000THB. At least then i'd have the guarantee that i would be in Lunag Prabang that night.

I had paid my 3000THB on the basis that the boat takes 6 passengers, and the extra baht i was paying was supposedly to cover the fuel costs based on the under-occupancy of the craft. However, between Huay Xai and Pak Beng the driver must have picked up about 20 Lao passengers altogether (some only made short journeys with their bags of rice and vegetables) and at one point there were 9 of us (and baggage) on the boat! All of those people paid the driver, the majority handing over 100THB notes. The driver had made well over his 6000THB, so in theory the three of us (me and the 2 Japenese) should have been entitled to a partial refund. Of course, when i pointed this out to the driver, he suddenly had problems understanding English. It appeared, from my impression of Laotians thus far that they merely see tourists as pound signs, and had none of the warmth that i felt from the Thai race.

The speed boat journey down the Mekong from Huay Xai to Lunag Prabang

The speed boat journey itself has got to be the most scary, adrenalin-filled parts of my trip so far. I had read in my Lonely Planet guide, just prior to boarding the craft :

"Serious accidents, sometimes including fatalities, involving these speedboats seem to occur on an almost weekly basis."

As soon as the boat got up to full speed, i could understand how this statement could be true. The boats travel about 60km per hour and in parts the water was so shallow the boat was literally being bumped along by the rocks. Due to the speed at which they travel, it increases the risk of the driver not seeing or not having time to avoid a rock or tree shoot in the middle of the river. We were given lifejackets, which although substandard, would have prevented us from drowning if the boat were to sink or capsize. My real worry was hiiting something in the water (which, according to James's speed boat journey, includes dead cows and pigs as well as rocks and trees!) and being catapulted into the river or towards a large rock. My badly fitting helmet would have gone no-where towards protecting my head, and the rest of me was completely vulnerable.

On the plus side, there was a large part of the journey which was enjoyable and exhilarating and the scenery (which you could see but not really appreciate due to the speed we were travelling) was spectacular. When the boat wasn't in contact with rocks or standing waves or the wash from another boat after it passed us, the ride was bumpy but not uncomfortable and was actually a lot of fun.

However my lingering thoughts of that journey right now are the last hour, which was completed in pitch darkness. There were no lights on the boat, the driver didn't have a torch, and i could barely see the direction of the river, let alone the positions of rocks in our path. I was petrified i wasn't going to come out of it alive. Fortunately i did!

I got to Luang Prabang and headed straight for an internet cafe, praying to God that James had checked his mail and had been in contact about where he was staying, as i really needed to see a friendly and familiar face. He had, so i hitched a taxi to the Silichith Guesthouse and we spent the evening sharing beer Lao and speed boat stories and a very nice meal at Tom Tom Bamboo.

Photo is of a typical Luang Prabang street, with our guesthouse just on the left.