Luang Prabang, Laos - Friday 6th

Sitting in the Hanoi airport departure lounge we realised that we either needed $US, Thai Bhat or Lao Kip to pay for our entry visa in to Lao, and that only cash in these currencies were accepted.With no foreign currency outlets in the small international departure lounge, we eventually were allowed back out and into the terminal to try and get the cash, with the grumpy official in the uniform holding on to our passports.After trying a number of outlets we found that they were either not selling $US dollars, wouldn't accept our travellers' cheques or wouldn't accept a UK driving license as proof of identity, only passports which, of course, were with the grumpy official.Feeling frustrated and hoping we could sort it at the other end we boarded our flight.Luang Prabang is nestled between mountains, so again we have some beautiful scenery to enjoy.At the border the people were a lot friendlier and we were allowed through passport control to get the cash for the visa.We were picked up by a Swiss guy, his Vietnamese wife and their small four year old son to take us to the ThongBay resort, which is set amongst a pretty well-kept lush garden with lots of flowers and a small pond.The bungalows are spacious, quite basic, but who cares when the view from the large terrace overlooks the river where you can see the monks come down from the jungle behind in their burnt orange robes to wash in the river. We caught up with some much needed sleep and then headed in to town.There is a large night market that lines the street with some good colourful fabrics, bags, slippers, cushion covers, t-shirts and then bags, slippers, cushion covers, t-shirts ….It seems the recurring theme, about 10 times over on each side.At least we are not getting hassled quite as much as in Vietnam and the quality appears to better.The main street with its bars, restaurants and tour shops is quite quaint and as the whole town is UNESCO Heritage Listed it will thankfully stay that way.We sat in one of the bars and people watched for a few hours and then got the tuk-tuk back before the town's 11.30pm curfew kicked in.

Saturday 7th

Oh dear - we spoke a couple of days ago of how well we had done at not being ill during this whole trip. This has tempted fate as Suz was laid up with no energy, nausea, headaches, puking etc for the whole day.Stephen left her with her Desperate Housewives box-set and cycled in to town, on a rather charming ladies bicycle, complete with front basket (bearing close resemblance to Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote).The town is attractive and laid-back with tree-lined avenues, without a signpost or neon light in sight.Therefore, Stephen got lost and, after unintentionally visiting a number of unnamed Wats, found himself back in the main tourist area for lunch.The advice from the hotel is that it's disrespectful to have your head higher than the orange-robed monks that scurry around the town under their parasols to their next place of mediation in search of Nirvana.However, it's pretty difficult, on occasions, when you're 6-feet 2-inches, to have your head lower than a 5-foot 13-year-old monk, particularly when you're trying to look macho on a girl's bike.

Sunday 8th

Without the gory details, the illness continues…..

Monday 9th

With Suz feeling a bit better and everything appearing to have settled we cycled in to town.Although the roads are still busy with tuk-tuks and mopeds, there at least seems to be enough room on the roads for everyone and more relaxed than Hanoi.We walked to the Pagoda at the top of Phu Si and appreciated some great views of the area.We then went to the National Museum of Luang Prabang, housed in the old RoyalPalace (the royals having been kicked out sometime in the 1970s), which contains the gold statue of Buddha and presented as a gift from Sri Lanka in the 1st Century AD.The town is named after this Buddha.The palace's state rooms are decorated wth brightly, coloured and detailed Japanese glass mosaics on the walls, some beautifully carved gold furniture, swords and other artefacts belonging to the old Kings. (Including some beautiful lavishly crafted gifts to the royals from around the world…. oh and an Airfix model of Apollo 2 from the US) There was also the Floating Buddha photo exhibition depicting the solitary and serene looking of the lives of the Monks. There are so many Wat's in town we are worried we might 'Wat ourselves out' before getting to the famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia and then not being impressed, so we gave those a miss.We walked around the market to get some provisions and then headed back to get out of the heat.In the evening we went back in to town for dinner and bought some Lao Lao - the local equivalent of Black Death liquor for 65p for a bottle!Stephen enjoyed a couple on the balcony, but Suz who is enjoying the miracle of having no appetite and not fancying any booze is glad of the excuse to decline, as it was pretty foul.

Tuesday 10th

Bad news is that Suz's bad tummy is back with a vengeance; the good news is that it's the fastest diet known to man and there must have been a bit of a weight loss, which would look quite fetching if it wasn't for the baggy comfort clothes and miserable face. We spent the day on the terrace outside our room or in the gardens with nothing of much interest to report on, although it has been quite fascinating to watch the farmers in the fields opposite.During the course of the week we have seen a huge mud patch turn into a healthy looking green patch of vegetables.Up before the cock's have finished their doddle-doo's they are out tending to their crops.It looks like back breaking work as everything is done manually. In fact, the only modern technology is a huge speaker, rigged up and sitting in the middle of the field, blasting out the latest Lao compilation disk of some very bad love ballads. We can't help thinking that the cost of electricity must outweigh the return from the crops.At 4pm the drums start in the Buddhist school as the call for prayer, then follows some singing and then play time in the river.Compared to some of the other places we've stayed in Suz couldn't have asked to be ill in more beautiful surroundings.

Wednesday 11th

After another dodgy start, but Suz decided to brave it anyway and get out into town before the week is up. We went to the new trendy market for new sunglasses and also had a general browse around.Strangely, prices were not much different from the UK, or even Dubai, so those beautiful shoes that Suz was drooling over stayed put (no room in the rucksack either!)We then went on to the main market and stopped off at The Medicine Man's stall.He must have been about 106 (a good advert for his medicine, which really looked like wood chippings in a bag).He gesticulated to explain the many ailments that his potions can cure including; upset tummy (with sound effects), the clap (which included scratching and then licking his finger for some reason) and the equivalent of Viagra (which included rocking his frail hips, which we thought might snap, and hand gestures, which made it universally clear as to their effects).We were having hysterics, which was making him laugh all the more.We bought an 'energy boost' from him that we have to boil up and drink while sitting cross-legged in a northerly direction while sacrificing a chicken with one hand on your nose and a flower in your hair…. or something along those lines.We also stopped at the Library, where we bought some text and reading books for the local children, which is more beneficial than giving them money directly in the streets.Then off to the Museum of Art and Ethnology, where we were able to learn about all the different cultures and tribes.There was also a short video showing the 6 day Taoist ritual it takes to become ordained which includes prayer, meditation and traditional dancing.The cost of this is equivalent to a household's salary for 2 and a half years, so usually families will get a job lot done with all the males at the same time.

Thursday 12th

We were picked up by our two guides in a tuk-tuk and, after stopping at their house to pick up provisions and a couple of kayaks, we headed off to the river.The boys were both really friendly and on the way there we were able to quiz them about life in Laos, including the discovery that one of their father's is the village Shamen (Witch Doctor). We got to the river and got togged up in our helmets and life jackets to cross the very narrow, but fast flowing section of river and then climbed the steps to a remote village.Here there were two different cultures living next door to each other; the Lao and the H'Mong, and both living in perfect harmony.These homes are as basic as you can get.Made from bamboo and dried grasses they have to be rebuilt each year, and the neighbours all muck in together rebuilding one house at a time.There is limited electricity and only the more affluent (!) Lao people have TV's.Despite not having any money, the families tend to be big, and the whole family sit outside on the dirt chatting.We went over to the school which was made up of three classrooms.There was lots of shouting and giggling coming from them all, with the noisiest being the youngest class of four-year olds.Suz stopped to take photos, but they were a bit shy and it was hard to make most of them sit still for long enough to get the shot.There were lots more giggles when they saw themselves on the camera screen.There wasn't a teacher in sight and not much learning going on, but they were all having a great time.Back on the river, we only crashed in to the bank once as we continued on our kayak down stream to the waterfalls.It's a beautiful area although far too many tourists to really appreciate it fully.We had a swim in the cool refreshing water and sat in the shallows and watched the blue dragon fly who sat audaciously on our knees for a rest and a look around.We had lunch with our guides, which consisted of a green chicken curry and beef curry with rice and then enough watermelon to feed an army.We walked across the many flimsy bamboo bridges crossing the water and then went to feed some bananas to the elephants.Their trunk is so rough and hairy and their huge wet nostrils were flaring as they took the bananas out of our hands.Unlike Vietnam, the Cambodians do not take every opportunity to cash in on the tourists, and while it's a welcome relief, you can't help thinking that they are missing an opportunity to sell their goods.We got back in the kayak and continued rowing for another 3 hours.We passed lots of fishermen, who were throwing their weighted nets into the water and then diving down in the brown water in their snorkel masks.Also, they use weaved baskets that act as fishing nets and fish traps.There were plenty of children in the river collecting weed that is dried and then stir-fried with sesame seeds, which is a Laos delicacy.Just as our arms were starting to weaken after so much rowing, we hit the rapids that we were promised.The constant shouts from our guides of 'just for fun' didn't calm our nerves, as we dipped and turned, trying to dodge the boulders sticking out of the water.We got through them without upturning the boat, but we didn't escape getting absolutely soaked through.In the evening we browsed around the market and bought a few things to take back with us.The people at the Guest House had invited us to join them for a free dinner, so although we were quite happy being out in the town we thought it would be far too rude not to go back for dinner.They can't do enough for us and are the nicest people.In Laos, it is common courtesy to return their prayer hands and bowed head each time you say hello; so we are bobbing up and down every five minutes.The Lao believe that you should avoid stress at all costs and that you lose face if you get angry in public….. so you need to be just as laid back as they are (eh Steve!)It is a beautiful country with beautiful people and we were sorry to move on.