Hello once again from Bangkok. I'm a bit behind on my blogs having not updated in the last 6 days and I have a lot of catching up to do! The last time I updated was way back in Luang Prabang, Laos, which seems like it was more than a week ago. Bangkok certainly is a world away from tranquil Laos. On the morning of our departure from Luang Prabang we were all up before 6am in order to head down to the main road and give alms to the monks. Buddhist monks rely sole...

Luang Prabang is an absolute gem of a town. Protected by UNESCO world heritage listing, the tourist boom here has been managed very well and there's no sign of the sordid development that I saw in Vang Vieng. Instead the hotels and other buildings have been integrated very well into the existing architecture, leaving a town that is both beautiful and peaceful. We arrived here 2 days ago after a 7 hour bus journey across some stunning mountains. We passed through ...

Hello from stunning Vang Vieng - easily the most beautiful town I have visited in Asia. We arrived here 3 days ago from Vientiane after a 4 hour bus journey where at times it looked as if the bus was certain to break down! The driver had immense difficulty getting the public bus into gear, which was a slight problem when we were going up steep inclines! We arrived at about 3pm and I wasted the remainder of the daylight hours eating out (which takes a while in Asi...

And so my trip moves on to one of my more obscure and lesser known destinations - the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Known to westerners as Laos (pronounced louse) I've got used to referring to it as the locals do, which is simply Lao. It has a reputation for being unspoiled and peaceful and I'm expecting great scenery as I travel north in my 9 further days here. The mountain scenery was already spectacular as we arrived to this landlocked country yesterday fr...