A straw field with raised paths for touchlines provided the perfect pitch, the ball 80s style black and white patched and I'm not sure where they found the jumpers for the goalposts! Admittedly not the highest level of skill on display in this game of 6 a side but ear to ear smiles & infectious laughter. The goalkeeper at the nearest end to me performing the obligatory handstands as soon as any danger was cleared. Having witnessed children throughout Asia wit...

As our tuc tuc hotel transfer pulled in to the bus station we were surprised to see some rather modern looking local buses. All of them barring the old beat up red one hiding at the back were actually better than the tourist bus we had taken from Vietnam. We purchased our 35,000 Kip (£3) ticket and were directed to our bus...the red one at the back! After hearing stories of local buses we had expected a small mini bus with no air con and one seat for 2 people a...

It was time for country number 7 on our itinerary and we were excited as Laos was also a country we had not previously visited. It was always in our plans but a last minute change meant we were heading there a couple of weeks sooner than originally planned. After working our way up the East coast of Vietnam our next destination would have been Hanoi. We had already visited the bleak communist capital of Vietnam a few years ago, so the thought of rain and 15 degre...