Hi all,

Its been a while since we updated and we've done loads. We're actually back in Bangkok now waiting for our flight to Sydney via Singapore. So we left Chiang Mai about 3 weeks ago and got on a (late and cramped) minivan bound for the border. Met an irish couple called Alan and Karen on the same bus so we ended up going across the border with them on a wee longtail boat when we finally got to the border. After we paid for our visas and found a room, the first thing we noticed about Laos was the cold! I was freezing. Had to get out my fleece and trousers for the first time in ages. We had a pretty quiet night in the village, Huay Xai. We booked the ticket for the slow boat with the mad old woman in our guesthouse and she assured us we'd have to be on the boat for 8.30 to get a good seat.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. I think she just wanted us out early so she could clean the room ready for new customers. We sat on the freezing, basic (bit of an understatement) boat until it finally left at 12.30! At first, there was hardly anybody on it but at about 11.30 it filled up and then they tried to put about 50 more people on it. These two french guys kicked up a fuss and got the whole boat to protest and chant. Eventually the boatmen relented and put on another boat. Nicer than ours. Oh and the French guys got off and got on the nice one!!!

Anyway, we evenyually left at 12.30 for 6 hours on the river. For seats we had a plank! e did buy cushions in anticipation but it was still so uncomfortable. Thank God the scenery was stunning to take our minds off it. Darren was happy taking loads of photos as i'm sure you saw. It was a long day. After it got dark, we finally arrived, halfway, at a wee village that only had electricity half the time to stay for the night. I went and found a room while Darren waited for the bags. Some man ran off with my bag and tried to get Darren to give him money for 'helping'. Luckily i had all the money. He got it back anyway.

The view in the morning was worth the long journey. The mist sitting on the river was stunning. Today, we got on the nice boat!! Result! Unfortuneately it was just as cold and long. But arriving in Luang Prabang made it all worthwhile. Waht a lovel place. So laid back and gorgeous. We met up with Andy and Gemma again, as well as Alan and karen and spent a week just relaxing and taking the place in. The highlight was the day we went to the waterfall and saw the bears. Andy got talking to the guy in charge and he let us in to feed them a bit. They were so gorgeous and seemed so gentle. After that we climbed up to the top of the waterfall. It was so steep! I was exhausted but it was amazing up there.

From Luang Prabang we moved on Vang Vieng which is famous for tubing and 'Friends' bars. The tubing was excellent. Basically you just float down a river in a tractor tyru inner and people pull you in to bars where there are zip lines and swings into the river. We had a great day. We managed to resist the urge to sit in bars all day and watch repeats of friends like everyone else was doing and moved on to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Quite a quiet city in comparison to other Asian cities and there were some nice sights to see but the accommodation was quite dear so we only stayed one night and came back to Bangkok.