The journey to Luang Prabang was one of the worst we have had.We decided to take the mini bus, as it was quicker, but the mini bus was tiny and they crammed it full.They then kept switching off the AC and opening the front windows, which was fine for the driver and co driver in front, but not good for us on the back seat, so we had to keep complaining.We also had a family in front of us, with a 2 and 4 year old who kept being sick, so we had to keep stopping!

Anyway, Luang Prabang is very beautiful. It is a World Heritage site, so we spent most of our time just walking around the town.We decided not to pay to go into any of the temples, as they were much more expensive here, as are most things, due to it being a tourist hot spot.We spent time walking along the 2 rivers, the Mekong and the Nam Kham, and relaxing as we both had conjunctivitis.We also went to the night market, which was much more relaxed than most we have been to, and so well organized.Everything seems so clean and organized in Laos, with lots of open space.

We did a day trip to the Tat Kuang Si waterfall, which was amazing.There are various 'swimming pools' at different levels down the waterfall which are fantastic.There was also a bear rescue centre, which we spent some time at, and a tiger rescue centre.There were lots of bears, but unfortunately the only tiger had died 10 days before we arrived!

We then took the night bus last night to Huay Xay, ready to do the Gibbon Experience (all will be revealed in the next blog). We had planned to get here by boat, but ran out of time to take the slow boat, and could not afford the speed boat.So, it should have been a 12 hour night bus, but it took about 14 hours, and there were no sleeper seats.Luckily a group of English lads got on with movies, so we didn't have to suffer Loas Karaoke!It was a pretty bumpy ride, with much of the road not built and some very difficult corners around the mountains, but we made it.They also crammed too many people on the bus, so we had 4 people sleeping by our feet!

We are here in Huay Xay just for the night.Not much to do except catch up on lost sleep, but it's just a stop over for us ready for an early start to the Gibbon Experience tomorrow.Hope all is well back home. Missing you all.

Maggie x