We had a very interesting journey from Vang Vieng to Vientiane, there were 14 of us squashed in the back of a truck with all our rucksacks for an hour as we drove along the windy Laos mountain roads, Andrew had the right idea stood on the back, waving at all the locals who thought it very funny to see Westerners travelling this way!

We then kayaked along the river for a few hours, this was lovely and peaceful and a good chance to see a bit of the countryside you would not normally notice.As it is dry season the river was very low, although there was one grade 3 rapid for us to go down.Very few people made it down it without capsizing, not even the guides!We so nearly made it and at the last minute over we went, good fun though and a good excuse to get in the water as it was starting to get very hot!

Lunch was BBQ chicken kebabs, rice and baguettes (loving the French influence!) all cooked over a little fire on the river bank, then it was back in the kayaks to continue along the river.Our next stop was at a 10m high cliff from where you could jump into the river.It was very high and very scary but I managed to do it which I am very proud of myself for.Andrew couldn't bring himself to jump which he was later very annoyed with himself for!

The final leg of the journey was another 2 hour ride squashed in a truck and we finally arrived in Vientiane around 7pm.A long day but it didn't feel like we had wasted a day travelling as we had got to do some fun things along the way!

We have been in Vientiane for 3 days and it has been HOT!We thought we were pretty acclimatised but we have been finding the heat here pretty hard to take, it does not take much before our T Shirts are soaked through with sweat - nice!It is so hot Andrew even splashed out for air con in our bedroom!!

Vientiane is the capital city of Laos but you would not really know it.It is so quiet here and very low rise, it really feels like a small town.There is a great deal of urban sprawl where the locals live, but in the centre overlooking the Mekong River, where all the tourists are it is very quiet and there is not much here except guest houses and restaurants and of course the 12am curfew means for a peaceful night's sleep all round!

We spent a day checking out all the tourist sights.The Pha That Luang is a golden national monument built as a symbol of Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignty.It was certainly very impressive to look at and while we were there trying to cool down in the shade we started talking with a couple of novice monks.It was fascinating to talk with them, they were very keen to practice their English and learn all about us and our lives, we equally had many questions for them.We learnt that novice monks only have 10 rules to live by whereas monks have 2027 rules to follow - quite a step up!!Many Laotian boys/men spend some time of their life as a novice monk, often just a couple of years, as it is a good chance for them to gain some education, very few continue to become full monks.

We went to the Patuxai, Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe, built with concrete donated by America to build an airport!!It is in need of a bit of repair but still looked very impressive at the end of the Avenue Lan Xang, with the Presidential Palace at the other end.We also saw the That Dam or the Black Stupa, which used to be gold until all the gold was pillaged!!There were also many beautiful Wats as there are everywhere in South East Asia, although we are trying to hold off on them until Cambodia!

The French influence is everywhere in Vientiane, particularly in a little area called Nam Phu where there is a beautiful water fountain and lots of quaint cafes and restaurants.

Our last night we spent the evening watching the sunset over the Mekong River with a few drinks and then treated ourselves to a very nice (but expensive in Laos standards) in a French restaurant where we had pate to start and then I had fillet steak with creamy mushroom sauce and Andrew had fillet steak with red wine sauce.It was so good!!!!

We have completely fallen in love with Laos and are very sad to be leaving.It is a country about the same size as the UK yet only about 5 million people live here so it is so relaxed and peaceful and on the whole the people have all been so friendly, smiling and greeting you with 'Saibadee' as you walk past them, even in the street.

Next we travel for 24 hours on a bus to Vietnam, it is going to be long and probably very uncomfortable but I bet we will have some funny stories after it!

Lots of Love to everyone

Sarah and Andrew xxx