"Sabaidee" from Laos!!

We arrived in Laos from Hanoi after an epic 20 hour bus journey. It started wit us being slightly late for our pick up from the Laos Embassy as a result the minibus was packed to the brim with only room for Becky to squeeze in among the bags. Charlotte was then whisked away on the back of a moped doing 70km/h along the main highway (which is insanely busy especially as it was rush hour!!)  After a slightly worrying 30mins we both arrived safe and sound at the bus depot and randomly had to pose for photos with the bus. The bus was so basic and we were forced to sit at the back along with the couple of other westerners. This meant we couldnt recline our seats back and and most of the luggae was piled up around us so we had to climb over it to get out. We sulked most of the journey as all the locals (at the front of the bus) were able to recline their seats and actually get some sleep!! We didnt think it could get much worse until it got to 3am and the bus randomly parked up and the driver got off with no explanation to where he was going. After 20 mins we were told by one of the locals that he had gone for a 3 hour nap in a motel and we would be leaving again at 6am!!! A few people got off the bus so we were able to spread out a little and tried to get a bit of sleep.

We eventually arrived in Vientiene, the capital of Laos, at about 2.30pm. We only spent one night here as we were pushed for time but from what we saw of it was a lovely town set on the banks of the Mekong River. In the evening with a few people we met on the bus we headed to the river banks for some cheap street food. Between 6 of us we ordered 2 local hotpots. This wasnt quite what we were expecting as they brought out raw chicken, raw shrimps, noodles, vegetables and seasoning and we had to cook it ourselves over a small burner. Was really good fun thou and tasted really good! Here we got to sample our first Beer Lao which we had resisted through Cambodia and Vietnam until we actually got to Laos.

The next day we took the 5 hour local bus to Vang Vieng further north. The bus journey went through the mountains and was really scenic. We spent 6 nights in Vang Vieng; tubing, partying, tubing and watching Friends!! Vang Vieng is famous for tubing along the river - this is a bit like Lazy Rivers you get in water parks but on a bigger and drunker scale! You hire a tube (tractor inner tyre) for $4 and then get a lift in the tuk-tuk 3km up river to the drop-off point. From here you float down the river stopping off at the numerous bars along the way. The owners of the bars have huge long bamboos which they throw out into the river to pull you in. It's customary at each bar to have a free shot of Lao Lao which tastes like paint striper!! Nearly every bar has a different swing or zip wire into the water which are really high and quite scary but after a few beer we felt we were invincible! After 3 days of tubing our bodies gave up and we were aching all over! In the evening in Vang Vieng its pretty chilled and relaxed beause most people have been drinking all day but there is a curfew of 12midnight so for those who want to party later there is one bar that stays open the only catch being that it is on an island and not easy to get to! To cross the river you  have to take one of the rickety bamboo bridges. We got half way across the main bridge one night when we realised there were no more planks and had to back track and find another route. This took us further down stream so we then had to wade through swamps to get to our destination - Sunset Bar!! It was worth it thou as was really chilled and had a relaxed atmosphere until the police arrived to close it down - this is a regular occurance and everyone just headed back to their guesthouses.

While we were in Vang Vieng we also did an organised day trip trekking, visiting local caves and ending up tubing on the river!! We visited four caves all of which were really dark - we had to wear mining torches on our heads. The day we went it had been raining loads so was really slippery and made it pretty difficult to climb down into the caves. One of the cave was actually full of water so to get in we had to float on tubes in the pitch black just using rope to pull us along - we let out a few screams on the way!

Every bar in Vang Vieng is a TV bar showing re-runs of Friends, Simpsons and the odd film so when we werent tubing we were relaxing watching TV - our longest stint was 7 hours straight of Friends!!!!

We left Vang Vieng on Thursday morning and caught the VIP bus to Luang Prabang. The bus journey was even more scenic than before with stunning views of the mountains. We arrived in Luang Prabang in the afternoon and found a really nice guesthouse close to the Mekong River. That evening we went for a wander around the town and found ourselves a local food stall which we then ate at every night we were here. For 25p you got to pile you plate high from a vegetarian buffet - the food was really good and popular spot for backpackers especially as a lot of the restaurants here are slightly pricey!! Luang Prabang is a good spot for trekking and as we'd made and executive decision to skip Chang Mai (north Thailand) we decided to do one here. We opted for a 2 day/1 night trek which left early saturday and came back sunday afternoon. We chose a mountain biking/elephant ride and trek combo so we started with a 17km bike ride from town to the elephant sanctuary - this nearly killed us!! There were too many hills and the heat was just way too much to bear. When we arrived at the elephant sanctuary we then did and hour elephant ride through the jungle which was amazing and Charlotte got to sit on his head! At the sanctuary they have five elephants which have all been put into retirement after years of logging and are now protected from poachers. We then had lunch at the lodge before starting our one hr trek to a local mountian village (Kamu people) where we were to spend the night. The village whish had 300 people in 68 houses was a real culture shock and reminded us a bit of Robin Hood Prince of Theives!! All the houses were bamboo huts with no electricity and very basic facilities. There was one tap that doubled up as a shower for the whole village and two toilets!! We had bought some books (Laos and English) to give to the local children as many children in Laos have never even seen a book. So that evening we had about 10 children (and a few adults) all sat around a table reading the books by candle light! Was a really good experience to stay in the village and the children seemed so happy to see us and they loved the books. They next day we started early on our 3 hour trek back to the elephant lodge for lunch. We trekked through the jungle and up some pretty steep hills to another mountain village (Mong People) and then headed down to the river where we were picked up by the smallest and wobbliest boat in the world to go back to the lodge. Trek was really good fun and really glad we did it even if we were absolutly shattered come suday night!

Another highlight of Luang Prabang is the shopping especially its night market where they shut off some of the roads from 5pm til 10pm. Local people line the streets with alll sorts of things to buy including t-shirts, bags, slippers, scarves etc. Nearly all the goods at the market are handmade in Luang Prabang and the surrounding area by the locals. It's really lovely to walk around here at night as its all lit up and what they have to sell is beautiful - so we shopped til we dropped or as far as our budget would take us!!

There is also a curfew in Luang Prabang of midnight so after drinking in the Hive bar everyone ends up the at the Bowling alley just out of town as its the only place that stays open - it was a really good laugh but its shocking how bad we bowl after a few Beer Lao!!

Yesterday afternoon we tagged along with an Intrepid tour group to the Koung Si waterfall which is 30km from Luang Prabang. The waterfall is huge and so amazing with 3 different tiers that you can climb up to and a fourth that your not meant to but after a bit of a stuggle we made it to the very top!! There was a lagoon at the top which you could jump into and swim right up to the edge of the waterfall to see the fabulous views.

We loved Laos and have really enjoyed our two weeks here as its so beautifull and the people are really lovely but party time in Bangkok is calling so we are flying there today!!! Woohoo!!

Sorry no pics as we are both camara-less and too upset to talk about it! :(

Hopefully one of the guys we met will email us some so watch this space!\

Hoping you are well and enjoyed May Bank Holiday. Miss you all. Take care, lots of love us. xxxxxxx