Curse the 30 day visa in Thailand! We were forced to bail our beloved Pai earlier than we wished, due to the slight oversight of our visa's. Wasn't till a leisurely chat over a couple of cold Changs one evening that we realised we were in fact verging on becoming illegal immigrants, our 30 days coming to an end, and the horrible prospect of leaving Pai imminently and bailing for the border..before the authorities nabbed us (not that extreme, but wasn't up for a hefty fine at the border crossing as and when we decided to leave the country).

We loved Pai, the laid back atmosphere, the days mooching around playing cards and quaffing Changs...sorely missed. Saying that, had we stayed any longer..we'd be wearing nose rings, Suze would be decked in dreadlocks, we'd both be into the herbal scene and shunning conventional medicine and worse..we'd be vegetarians!!! I'm thankful we decided to leave when we did....a life without meat would have finished me off...

So all aboard the 11 hour bus journey to the border, Chiang Khong in fact, across the Mekong river from Laos. These bus journeys are becoming a little easier now, but not a winding road uphill from Pai and downhill to Chiang Mai. Ironically the most expensive anti-malerial on the market touted as being free of all side effects, doesn't agree with me..so I suffered on that trip to Chiang Khong, and thankful I'll never have to sit through it again.

But in the early evening, we made it. A bizarre guesthouse to say the least, with a madam that wanted to be a jack of all trades but a master of none (cook, receptionist, cleaner, taxi driver, cooking courses..she had a finger in every pie). It wasn't jam she served me for breakfast, I can't descibe it..and I've eaten monkey! However, the scene across the water that morning was an experience in itself..Laos, all lush and green and misty.

Border crossing into Laos is anything but simple mind. A taxi to the immigration office, sign out (sweating off course if you'll like a bit over your visa like us) of Thailand first..smiling politely, then a ferry across to Laos and utter bedlam. You need nerves of steel in that immigration office, cause Laos is laid back. So laid back, they have to charge you extra on the weekend for filling out a visa! We were being tested in that scrum, but that 30 day stamp was ours and Laos was now our next challenge.

To get from Huay Xai to Luang Phrabang, our prefered destination, can only be completed by boat. The slow boat down the Mekong is a "once in a lifetime experience" according to every guidebook we encountered. So are the horror stories associated with it from various individuals we've encountered en route here. Neither of us we're really up for this ordeal, we'd admit that as much, and when you're crammed onto small benches with nothing more than a inch thick pillow seperating your buttocks from the hard wood...you kinda think your nightmares are coming true.

But...it was surprisingly pleasant!

Due to your conditions, you're almost forced to talk to those around you which makes for great conversation over the next 8 hours. We sat, practically on top, of a dutch couple, Fleur and Tom, who were taking the gap year out we never got round to. The vibe on the boat was great, young americans to the front downing as much whisky and Lao beer possible, sat cheek to cheek with eccentric frenchmen whilst essex hockey players peppered the air with cheeky anecdotes and over the top laughter. The list of incidents ran like a soap opera....the amorous frenchman diving in to the Mekong whilst we docked for refreshments to impress the off her face american, cracking his head open in the process..the harmonica player and his audience of Lao children who clearly hadn't seen an instrument of this kind or heard it played so badly...the mental french canadian in full massage uniform and his ting tong thai bride..entertaining as it gets.

So the 8 hours went by quite nicely and..sit down for this..I actually read a book. Not the Sun, a book..and damn good one to. As night descended we entered the small town of Pakbeng, the "pitstop". I remember a conversation with a rather arrogant canadian in a Chiang Mai bar, desribing Pakbeng as "hell" and the "worse experience of my life". Various accounts followed from other travellers chronicling rats and cockroaches and aggressive guesthouses making you part with more money than you needed...and the lights going out at 10pm as generators run the whole community, leaving you fumbling in the dark.

Well, we had an all together different experience. Okay, the walking-a-plank-to-shore-at-night experience on docking wasn't great..especially as Suze almost fell into the Mekong, the grazes on her shins bear testement to that unfortunate episode. But, our guesthouse at the end of the mainstreet was clean...no rats, no cockroaches, very reasonable price, hot shower, nice breakfast and a packed rice lunch for the journey onto Luang Phrabang the next day. Couldn't be further from what we'd heard. We woke up, refreshed and ready for the last stage of the journey....pleasantly surprised. Yes, you're in pitch blackness come 10pm..but by that point we'd passed out asleep.

The next 6 odd hours raced by,the party mood a little subdued but still an undercurrent (the excess of the previous day didn't dampen everyones spirits) of mischief. I never finished the book, but got within 200 odd pages of the end...I shocked even myself! We unexpectably arrived in Luang Phrabang early evening, and loved the colonial feel of the place. French rule is imminent in LP, the shutters on the buildings, the laid back cafe culture of the mainstreet, but the prices are higher than what we've experienced en route through Laos. Tourism is clearly the breadwinner here. The currency is mental as well...we're Kip millionaires!....well, 1.2m Kip is roughly 100 quid, and you sometimes pay in Baht..or US dollars, which gets rather confusing. But, the Laos people are charming and never afraid to flash you a smile.

So far, we've taken in some the sites this world heritage town has to offer..Wats like everywhere! Seeing as I'm subjecting her to 62 laps of noise at the Oz Grand Prix next month, Suze dragged me to a ballet. I was hoping for Rachel Stevens, Austin Healy and Laos's answer to Brucie compering a Pasa Doble, or Tango, but was disappointed. Saying that, it was a nice experience, and Suze loved it which is what really counts, but some time lazing round the town and the nearby waterfalls is much more appealing to me. Laos is a little slow on the internet side, and the pics will have come later when I find a computer quick enough, but next time we update this I imagine we'd have moved down south to Vang Vieng for further adventures. Until then, enjoy the snow....the muscle vest has made a comeback I'm afraid as its so hot, please don't be alarmed by the shocking pics to follow...

Love to all

Mike and Suze..xxxx