We are most definitely staying somewhere much nicer. It's quite a walk out of town, crossing the rickety wooden pedestrian bridge, following the dirt track along the river and then turning right where a stream meets the main water body. It's all the better for it! Our guesthouse/bungalows are called Maylyn and are set amongst lush gardens, overlooking a tiny stream, fields at the back of us and the mountainous karst scenery beyond these. It's £10 a night and th...

What a day. We've come to realise that for every few great days, there will always be another day that throws problems at you and is draining. They are 'one of those days'. We caught our mini van from Vientiane, walking in the already blistering heat at 9am from our out of town accommodation. The shuttle bus wouldn't pick us up as we weren't in the city centre circle. The van actually passed right by the driveway of Villa Lao en route to Vang Vieng ....at 10.15a...