Dinner last night was fab at the guesthouse, we had a great time and we all decided to bet on the World Cup game between England and Paraguay. I predicted a 1-0 win to England and yes, as you will probably now know, I won!!! woo hoo, all of 340 baht. Went to the internet cafe on the little village street (it is just so amazing to find technology even in the most smallest of places and so cheap!) I caught up with emails, etc. and listened to Tracey's latest recording, which is absolutely fab! We had a thunder storm later on, the lightning was soooo loud and the rain extremely heavy!, but it was sooooo fantastic to watch and listen to. The guesthouse is just soooo lovely, I really didn't want to leave this morning, but we had to in order to cross the border into Laos. We took a little fishing boat over the river to Laos and went through the Laos border control, they charged us 20 baht as it was a Sunday! (apparently it depends what mood they are in as to whether they will charge or not, obviously an off morning!) I tried to change 20 US dollars into Laos Kip, but the man refused to take the note because it was apparently an old version and they wanted only new ones (even though they are still legal tender) it was a good job Meghan had a new type to swap with me, as I don't know what I would have done? Got 200,000 Kip, you feel like a millionaire here, with so much money! Met our guide called Sing Thong, his name means 'The Golden Lion'. He told us lots of facts about Laos, population is 6 million, very small country, borders with China, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Mekong River runs through all these countries and it actually starts in Tibet and is nearly 5000 km long, nearly 2000 km runs through Laos itself. When the river runs through both Laos and Thailand it actually belongs to Laos as part of it's land mass. We went down the Mekong River for most of the day in order to reach the little village of Pak Beng, where we were to stay the night. Whilst on the boat we were told not to point our feet at things or to have them pointing out as they walked past (it was a private family boat), as it's a big sign of disrespect. They would not walk past you at all and it would offend them. When they do walk past they always bow their heads, as they will try and get lower than your head, as a sign of respect. Toilet on the boat very basic, as was expected. It is so strange to have to put toilet paper in a bin next to the toilet and you have to ladle water into the toilet to flush it, all a bit smelly! Found out that 'Ting Thong' means Crazy Person, I wonder if Matt Lucas and David Walliams were aware of this? Sing's brother joined us for the trip, he has just come out from having been a monk for the last 17 years, I think everything is a bit of a shock to him! He was actually a monk at the temple we visited in Chiang Mai, called Doi Suthep. Got to Pak Beng around 4.45pm and OH MY GOD what a long hard walk from the boat to the guesthouse!!!! Bags soooo heavy - had five minutes to cool off then Sing took us round the village - a lovely little place. Saw children bathing at side of the road - took some piccies and showed them and they were fascinated and their Mum's came out to have a look too. One little girl tried to get in on one of the photos, but she was naked and her Mum told her off - sooooo funny, such innocence. Went through their food market and tried some local food, including one thing that looked like the bark off a tree, it was very aromatic and they use it as a spice in cooking and also for their own malaria protection, as they don't have tablets like us. We went up to the village temple, took some photos of some of the young monks, one of which had a strikingly beautiful place. Their are 5 parts to a temple (as in buildings) which represent the heart, arms, legs, body and the mind. The last one, mind, being the actual monks themselves. Had dinner at the local restaurant, I had Lap Pa (fish salad) and sticky rice, very yummy, but I couldn't eat it all I felt terrible leaving it. I also had 2 coconut shakes which were GORGEOUS! We all thought the electricity was going off at 10pm, so I went back to my room to cool down with fans, but they stayed on all night in the end (great relief) and went off at 7am instead, I think they were being kind to us. 12/6/06 - Got up this morning and got the heavy bags back down to the boat at 8am. Went further down the river until 2pm when we reached the Pak Ou caves. There were lots of steps up to the caves from the water front. I didn't think I was going to make it, so tiring and hot, but the caves were cool though which was nice and very interesting, there were lots of buddha statues inside, which over the past 5 centuries people have placed there as an offering when they visit. We carried on down the river a little further and a few got off to watch how they make rice wine, I decided to stay on the boat in the shade. I couldn't get comfortable all day so I was glad to reach our destination in Luang Prabang, which is also Sing's home town. The guesthouse here in Luang Prabang is just beautiful! We are in luxury! - Caitlin and I (who are sharing throughout the trip) have a wooden bungalow on stilts with a balcony which overlooks the river and we are shaded with lots of trees. The view is just fantastic and the facilities are fab, a proper bathroom!! All the VIP's from Laos and Thailand come and stay here and there is a very strong rumour/suspicion that Mr Thong's wife (who we call Mr T) is part of the royal family, which was overthrown here in Laos in 1975. The grounds are just gorgeous, we are sooooo glad to be here and we are staying for 3 days/nights, yippee! Went down to the market at 7pm and had a good mooch round the night street market. This was soooo pretty, with so many stalls selling pretty things. People are so friendly, I LOVE IT HERE! 13/6/06 - Got up at 5am to go and see the Monks collecting Alms, this is where the monks walk the streets with containers and people give them food, flowers, etc. I bought some sticky rice and some sweets to give to the younger monks as I had heard they love some treats. It was a very interesting experience. Got back around 6.15am, so I went back to bed - sleepies! Got up again around 9.00am and had a lovely breakfast served to me on my balcony, then got ready to go by Jumbo (a large tuk tuk) to Kwang Si Falls at 10.30am. It turned out it was 10am, so I had a rush to get all my things together! The waterfalls were just superb! I climbed up a large tree and jumped into the water, then I climbed the waterfall and jumped off the top of it into the water below, it was fantastic, so much fun, I love the water. Us girls had to go in fully dressed, otherwise it would offend the locals. We then went to visit and feed Phet (pronounced Pet) the Tiger, she was rescued by the Intrepid Foundation (people who have organised this trip) when she was around 6 weeks old. She was a skinny little thing and they have reared her. It is a real shame to see her in captivity, but she would have died and her enclosure is very, very big. We took turns in feeding her big bits of meat, which she loved and she lay down for us to stroke her through the bars. She has a beautiful face and massive paws! We then went to feed the Sun Bears. Had lunch then the jumbo took us back to Thong Bay (the guesthouse). We sang a few songs on the way back a mixture of Oasis, Elvis and we left Dougie to sing Westlife on his own! Relaxed the rest of the afternoon then went into the town at 6.30pm, did a lot of shopping and had a meal in the food market, which was yummy, all you could eat for 5,000 kip (around 25p!) I had noodles, rice, pork dumplings, spring rolls, home made crisps, salad, pineapple, etc, etc.... Went to Sing's house later on and met his wife, Nuk and his 2 year old daughter Crista, very nice for them to welcome us into their home. The boys had been for dinner there (they had bonded very well with him) and they were a bit worse for wear when us girls arrived, he had been plying them with Laos whisky! I tried a little and I could of breathed fire afterwards! Sing then took us all to a nightclub, this was good fun and funny watching everyone dance. They line danced alot and moved their hands alot! I did feel a bit out of it later on and started to think about everyone back at home and how we would all be having a laugh together if everyone was here. I got a bit upset, but I covered it up, as didn't want others seeing me like that. The nightclub closed at 12, so we all went back to the guesthouse. Because of how I was feeling I went straight to bed, whilst some of the others stayed up and had a toga party, I think I missed out on a good night, but then again I was feeling much better the following morning, whilst some others had very sore heads! 14/6/06 - Had a very relaxing day today, did nothing but eat a lovely breakfast on the balcony, slept, read and just generally chilled out. A few of us went into town around 4pm, I sat in the internet cafe trying to upload some photos, but with no success, I try again soon! Went back to the guesthouse for 7pm and we had a barbecue. They served everything to us at a big table in the garden, we started with a potato soup which was out of this world with garlic and cheese bread, then we had chicken with chips, mashed potato and salad. There was soooo much of it. We then finished off (eventually) with flambed banana and fresh pineapple - yum yum! Got to bed around 9.30pm, everyone was shattered. 15/6/06 - We got up today at 9am, had breakfast again on the balcony for the last time - boo hoo! We checked out and left at 10.30am, after having said goodbye to Sing and Mr T and went to Laos Airport. We took a short flight into Vientiane. The guesthouse we are now in for the next 2 nights seems OK, but Thong Bay will take alot of beating! Now sat in another internet cafe typing this up and trying to figure out how best to try and upload my photos again, fingers crossed. 16/6/06 - Hurrah I managed to get the photos uploaded, more to come though! Oh My God what a fab night out last night! We all ended up in a roof top bar watching the England - Trinidad & Tobago game. I correctly predicted the score again and Ben and I ended up splitting the winnings! Maybe I should start doing this for real and make loads of money? We were drinking buckets (yes buckets!) of whisky and red bull and as the night went on we all got a bit silly and had spitting the drink through the straws contests - I ended up soaked but I did give as good as I got! I spent the whole of the next day recovering in bed, watching movies! I have a great memory of looking up at the very large screen in the bar and seeing David Beckham and thinking how extremely gorgeous he looked that evening - there were a few others in the bar that thought so also! Met some people from Sweden (At least I think that's where they said they were from - it's all a bit foggy!) I do remember that they were smoking joints though! Ended up going back to James and Dougie's room and Catherine, Caitlin and myself gave them foot massages, then they returned the favour. I remember nodding off on the bed and then deciding it was time for bed. I woke up this morning realising I had left my shoes in their room! Great night, such good fun! However now nursing a hangover - all day in bed watching movies. Watched a lovely movie with James Garner and Gina Rowlands called 'The Notebook', I would recommend it to anyone, it made me cry! Caitlin, Megah and Almira decided to go and hire some scooters, they came back later on covered in oil, as their chains kept coming off!! I'm glad I stayed in bed!! 17/6/06 - Loooooooong bus ride to our homestay today in Hin Boun. Very small village and a very friendly family. Very kind of them to let groups into their home every week, it's a nice little earner for them, but even so a bit intrusive. Lots of children gathered round us again, I held a little baby who was just gorgeous and played with a few of the older ones. As we went for a walk they followed us, they wouldn't take James or Dougie's hand, but they would mine, aaaaah! We then went for a ride along the river in boats made out of B52 bomb cases! Great fun, I could just reach over and put my hands in the water, the surrounding scenery was fabulous, lots of mountains and greenery. I got a great photo of sunset across the river from the bridge too. Unfortunately when I took my bright red life jacket off (we had to wear them for insurance purposes!) it had stained my white top orange (fortunately it did come out in the next wash!) We had a scrumptious dinner, prepared by the family and our guide and it started to thunder and lightning, but it didn't materialise into any rain. Six of us shared one room. We had our individual beds and mosquito nets, but the mattress was very thin, like a cushion you put on a sun lounger and it was soooo hot in the room overnight, with no fans on, that I didn't really sleep a wink! Never mind, it was an experience! 18/6/06 - Left at 7am after a 6.15am breakfast and went to the Vietnam border. Then it was a looooooong bus ride to Vinh. Oh My God! first impression of Vietnam was of a noisy s***hole!!!!! We stopped off for lunch in Vinh and it was very messy, food all over the floor, apparently they don't clear up after every customer, they just leave everything until the end of the day! Ladies were very rude in the toilets, kept pushing past us in the queue, well as you can imagine in that heat my patience ran very thin and never mind the language I think they knew what I meant by the look on my face! We got to the hotel and it was very nice. Had a lovely dinner, but Caitlin wasn't feeling too well, so she stayed in the room. We were going to go and watch the Australia - Brazil game later on in the bar, but Caitlin still wasn't feeling great and I was very tired, so we watched in our room, but the TV went off before the end of the game, Caitlin had fell asleep anyway, so that was that!