Well, after what turned out to be an extended stasy in Pai, Northern Thailand, I am now in Luang Prabang, Laos. I cheated a little in getting here avoiding both the slow boat (2 days) and the fast boat (6 hours) in favor of taking an aeroplane instead! Whilst more expensive it was well worth it for the views from the plane when coming in to land....even if it was a little bit of a bouncy landing!! Laos, on first impressions, is as everyone describesd it....a naturally beautiful place...despite having been one of the most bombed countries in the world! The scenery is stunning and the people are great....a lot less forceful than in Thailand and you do get the feel that Loas is, so far, less tainted by the hand of tourism. Went to the bank today and became an instant millionaire....sounds great but it's hard work carrying a shoe box full of moey around with you all the time! We are leaving Luang Prabang tomorrow morning for a 6 hour boat trip up river (the most scenic boat trip in Laos apparently so look out for the pictures) before heading on to the Pain of Jars and a set of caves near to the Vietnam border where the government used to hide during times of conflict. Pictures and a further update will follow soon but the internet here isn't partuicularly good so downloading pictures takes a little while! Bye for now....