The first day of the journey to the border was pretty uneventful, the boat wasn't too full as most people seem to travel the country in the opposite direction, but most people ended up sitting on the floor as the seats were so uncomfortable! It was a long day but we eventually made it to the half way point at Pak Beng, where we stayed for the night. The next day we met two girls who were on our boat the day before, and they told us we were headed in the wrong d...

We spent two days at an elephant camp close to Luang Prabang, to see how the Lao Mahouts (elephant keepers) look after them. We were quite excited that the price included a night in the luxury elephant lodge, but unfortunately they messed up and we ended up in the standard room round the back, much more what we are used to! After a bit of moaning we were each given a large discount, which worked out much better for us! All of the elephants at the camp had been r...

We are currently in Luang Prabang, after a day on the bus, winding through the mountains. Fantastic scenery but a few people feeling ill especially when they turned the air con off when going up hill because the engine needed all the power it could get! Not really done much so far, wondered about the town and investigated the French bakeries! We climbed up about 300 steps last night to the top of a hill, to have a look at the temple there but mainly for the grea...

Vang Vieng is a beautiful little town up in the mountains, with the Nam Song river running through it. We found ourselves a nice little hut by the river for $3 a night so we were happy! We ended up staying for about 6 days, soaking up the scenery, either from a kayak, a tractor inner tube or the top of a mountain. Most days we would get a tuk tuk to about 10km upriver, before floating back down again by various modes of transport! The Lao people have all been so ...

We managed to cross the border into Laos easily, via tuk tuk, bus and jumbo, arriving in the capital Vientiane fr about a pound! Had to pay a random 20p entry fee to soldiers at the border! That afternoon we wondered around the town, it is definitely the smallest and most relaxed capital we have been to so far! Very French, with lots of bakeries so its all good! Watched the sunset over the river before going to and Indian restaurant - tikka massala with all the...