The bus journey to Luang Prabang was a 12 hour ordeal as it was up through the mountains. There were points when I could have crawled up the hill faster than the bus was going! There were no barriers at the side of the road and at quite a few points you would look out of the window and you were looking at drops some of which were 300-400 feet! Coming down the other side of the mountain the driver would fly down them at rediculous speeds, and on very windy roads. A couple of times the back wheels would leave the road over forementioned drops! The bus itself must have been 50 years old with no air conditioning so the heat onboard was immense. The driver also wanted to make a bit of extra money so was picking up locals even when the bus was full so there were people sat on plastic garden seats in the aisle. Other than all of this the scenery was breath-taking. The huge valleys and even bigger mountains were absolutely stunning.

After the ardous journey we arrived in the picturesque town of Luang Prabang and were told a reasonable price for a guesthouse (as it is expensive at this time of year, Laos new year) and got a tuk tuk there. Once there the guy tried to double the price so we just walked away and spent the next 2 hours trying to find somewhere with rooms and for a reasonable amount. We were so relieved when we found one! To make it even better the staff were great (other than when we gave them a big bag of laundry the day before new year, she didn't look impressed but he found it hysterical).

We awoke the next day to book a ticket to the caves and to go to the Tat (waterfall) Kwang Si. The tuk tuk ride to the waterfall was an experience in itself as there were children in every village we passed through lining both sides of the road with buckets of water, and soaking anything and everything that went past. Once at the waterfall we found that it was on several tiers and at each one you could swim. The water was freezing cold so in the first pool I only went in to my knees, to plenty of jeers from Sarah. The only reason I swam in the next one was because Sarah dragged me in.

On the way back to town we were soaked again and I feel that I should explain why. A part of Laos new year is cleansing each other (it is known as the water festival) so people throw water on one another. This is done to a larger scale in Luang Prabang than anywhere else in Laos which is why we decided to stay for so long. With this in mind we bought 2 water guns and spent the next day in a giant waterfight and it wasn't even new year yet! That evening we went for a few drinks with a couple , that were on the same boat trip as us in Nha Trang in Vietnam (what a small world!), and as the bars close at 11 we went bowling (which closes at 2).

The next day we woke late (and Sarah had a stinking hangover) and went out into the middle of mayhem. It was a carnival like atmosphere with music blaring, people dancing in the street and water everywhere. If you looked straight down the main street you could see waves of water as somebody got drenched. Within five steps from leaving our guesthouse both Sarah and I were saturated from at least five different directions, with everybody shouting "happy new year". This continued until 6:30pm when all of a sudden the shops start opening and the huge buckets of water that adorn the street are taken inside.

The next three days are a bit of a blur as it consisted of huge waterfights during the day and drinking/eating at night. The waterfights are like nothing I have ever known as it is literally everybody in the town (from the youngest to the oldest). We would leave our hotel dry and by the time we had taken the five steps to the main street were soaked from head to toe. There was a never ending trail ofpickup trucks with people in the back (with 5 or 6 barrels of water) soaking everyone it passed. If any of the drivers left there window open they were soaked in seconds from all the people that lined the street. It was the closest I have ever come to a carnival in my life as the whole town was celebrating for 3 days straight. As we walked down the street we would be given glasses of beer and the second we finished would be met with a wave of water in the face! Like I have said this was for 3 days and neither of us could help but be taken away by it. We would go out with the intention to just sit and watch it all from a bar but before we knew it would be in the centre of it.

I got so carried away that I actually broke 2 water pistols and had to steel a bucket from a bar to continue! This turned out to be a much more effective weapon as the volume of water meant that people were soaked by 1 well aimed shot.

There were also people running around with paint on their hands and rubbing it into peoples faces. By the time the water fight was calming down everyone looked like they were about to go into a war zone (or coming out!). This was an unforgetable experience that we both loved.

As this was our last stop in Laos I feel like I should sum up our experiences. Laos is a country that surprised me greatly. The scenery is stunning but it is the people that I will remember as they our the friendliest people I have ever come across, who never stop smiling and greeting people with genuine warmth. If only they got there act together regarding tourists (and tourism in general). The country is better than its neighbours of Vietnam and Cambodia.