So James and I are having an amazing time here in Laos; where the days drift by as blissfully as the Mekong river and the landscape rolls from one bit of gorgeousness into another... This really is the kind of place you find yourself lost without any intention of wanting to be found... Every day you are inspired by the innocence of the people and their fantasticly puritanical surroundings... So before I leave you all to go and roam around some more I'd better give you a lowdown on Laos: We arrived over a week ago (and i'm glad to say our journey past the border was not as traumatic as the one getting there!), and our intentions were to see the sights of the south and make our way north. That was until we found ourselves slap bang in the middle of the start of monsoon season with bridges collapsing all around us and mud quite literally up to our eyeballs!! So we made our way into civilisation (and concrete roads!) to Vientiene; the cute little capital of the country where we had a few days getting used to the local custom of letting life quietly pass you by! We pampered ourselves at a forest retreat with sauna and massage and lazed around on the Mekong before heading north to the 'travellers capital' of VangVien. Here we struck gold with the quaintest little hut next to a stream, (perfect for a morning plunge) and with stunning views of mountains and paddy fields. Whilst here we met a great bunch of guys and gals who shared in the fun of mountain climbing, trekking, cave exploring and lagoon swimming. The town is famous for its 'tubing' past time; basically getting yourselves into a tractor tyre inner tube and floating down the river. Sounds tranquail eh? But add zipliners, rope swings, diving boards and lots of bars plying you with beer and (the local liquor) Laos Laos and you've got yourself a pub crawl to rival all pub crawls! So we all managed to get through the obvious dangers involved in drinking + drifting only to have one of our group break his leg cycling over a bridge! And after planning to continue our little Laos adventure with them, they've all had to go to Bangkok to get him medical attention! And here we find ourselves alone again in Luang Prabang, home to gorgeous temples, amazing caves and stunning waterfalls. And yet whilst you guys are taking in every last inch of the British summer we find ourselves pi**ed on everytime we go out to explore!! And if the rain weren't enough to drive you back to the refuge of the hammock, the mud certainly is!! So you see guys we may be in one of the most beautiful countries we will ever have the privilege to visit, but at least you guys can feel smug in the knowledge that you are seeing less rain than we are and soaking in more sun... But it wont last of course!! xxxxx