By 0930 we had found a cheaper and better hotel for the following night, which was nice. Our new base was close to the Mekong and a shedload of washing was gratefully deposited with the owner. By lunch we had waved goodbye to our passports (applying for Cambodian visas - to be reunited with passports in Vientiane later this week) and then we were off to the waterfall at Tat Kuang Si for the afternoon. Our minibus had some interesting nurses from Germany and Austria and we discussed the state of Cambodian roads on the way to the park. An ascent up a path (of sorts) was rewarded by spectacular views. The waterfall effectively fell 'off' the top of the cliff, so there were pools you could paddle in very close to the edge before the water cascaded over. At the bottom we had a refreshing swim, before heading back to town. We went out for dinner with the German nurse and shared: Beer Lao (as good as ever, and there isn't really any other choice), fried Mekong seaweed ,Luang Prabang sausages with herbs and chilli, and a tasty chicken dish whose details now allude us. All was peacefully overlooking the Mekong - though as it is still relatively undeveloped, there wasn't much activity (ie light) by which you could truly tell that the river was there. The next day, it was up early to swap for our 3rd hotel (this time becuase our good hotel was already pre-booked up for the day). After tasty fruit shakes / omlette / pancake (again overlooking the Mekong, but in daylight we could definitely be sure it was there), we headed off to exploer the town. LP is a UNESCO world heritage site and howm to 32 wat temples. Like all of Laos, it still seemed pretty small scale though, little bigger than a small English town. We took in the temples and arhitecture; as the sun beat down the monks were using umbreallas for shade and we took the hint to take a break and eat once again. This time it was a spicy (yet delicate) chicken salad and stir fried aubergince. The 'Tum Tum Cheng Restaurant & Cooking School' delivered this fine cuisine, which we washed down with peppermint tea and yet more shakes (at 30p or so a time it would be rude not to).

An afternoon nap seemed like a fine way to avoid the heat; suitably refreshed we climbed the Chomsi Hill above the town to watch the sun set over the Mekong. Like many bits of LP it is a firm tourist attraction, so as the league of nations jostled for position we were certainly not alone. Very beautiful, nonetheless (apart from the mosquitos that had woken up in time for dusk). After China (where as westerners we were in a very small minority) it has been quite strange getting used to seeing so many tourists and hearing so much English spoken. Before we woudl have been joining up with anyone we came across; but now we were surrounded (backpackers, gap years, older culture vultures) so that wasn't an option (well, not to talk to all of them). An odd (and perhaps difficult to explain) culture change. Pizza (lots of western food now laid on just for the tourists) and stir fried vegetables were taken with the ubiquitous Beer Lao. A last look around the night market (a central street which gets closed once dusk falls, for traders to set up and sell their wares) and it was back to the hotel.