Blimey, time has run away with me. I have been over two borders since I last wrote - which should give you some indication as to why I havent written -I have been putting the miles in. I left Vang Vieng and knew I had to get a move on if I was to fit in all the things i wanted to see before reaching Bali in Feb so I put my foot down and injected a bit of cash into the equation to speed things up. Long bus journeys are ok (and I have taken a few) but flights help you move quicker.

So I set off for Vientiane to buy myself a new camera - hoping that the nation's capital would have electronics shops to wow me. I arrived, spent 5 hours looking for a camera shop that wasnt selling something from the 1990s and finally managed to treat myself, using all of my xmas money, to a very nice Canon Ixus digi thing. It is amazing if I dont say so myself and it even takes quite nice pics to boot! Well done Canon.

Vientiane itself is an old French colonial town and comes complete with its own Arc de Triomphe, terrible drivers and rude waiters. It is however, a lovely small place that is well worth a few days visiting. Not the best part of Laos but a nice stop en route to Vang Vieng in the future perhaps.

The next day, I was due to catch a plane up to Phonsavon. This isnt somewhere that backpackers normally venture and when i got there, I became painfully aware of this fact -most of the guesthouses were empty (seeming genuinely surprised when I walked through the door) and there were only 2 places to eat in the town that didnt look like they were serving dog. However, I had made the decision to go there because it featured in the top 50 things to see in SE Asia but upon my arrival, i did question by decision for a few moments. The journey itself was quite fun, although I seem to have left large busted German woman behind in favour of multiple mobile phone oriental who shouts into all of them!

The flight was with Laos Airlines who have only just got their reputation back from being one of the most dangerous airlines in the world, right up there with Senegal Air and Aeroflot! Still, I thought they did an admirable job.

I took the time to wonder around Phonsavon (for half an hour) before booking myself onto an organised tour which took in the sites and sounds of the area. Phonsavon is famous for being the site (well 56 sites) of stone jars thought to be about 4000 years old. Nobody is entirely sure what they are or how they were made, or indeed why, but they are impressive. Equally impressive is the fact that this part of Laos is one of the most heavily bombed parts of the planet due to the influences and efforts of the Americans (bravo for being indiscriminate back in the day) and so a lot of the sites have been left untouched for decades. International NGOs have been working there to clear up the areas sop tourists can get their belly full of neolithic culture.

Phonsavon done, it was a flight back to Vientiane for Xmas and I arrived - did the sites (of which there arent too many) and then after 2 days of looking, managed to meet up with the guys that I had met on the slow boat. We had a great time for a couple of hours and then I( went of to catch my Xmas Day bus which took me overnight down to Paxhe and from there on to Si Phan Don (the 4000 islands) which is right on the border with Laos and Cambodia. I did manage to do my good deed to all men on Xmas eve by letting two wayward Aussies stay in my room (which had a rather indulgent 3 beds) and this had not only the benefit of helping me split the cost ($18) but also allowed me someone to have dinner with and to see in Xmas Eve in style. Indeed, so much style that I felt pretty ropey on Xmas Day but I did now know a few of the bars the locals went to which is an advantage! Indeed the Chinese had wanted to use the river Mekong as a transport route but the river had other ideas and the largest waterfall in SE Asia appeared which prevented water logistics taking place. Good idea though.

I had aimed for an island called Don Khong but as I woke up as the bus arrived at the destination, i discovered I was actually going to Don Det (one of the other islands I had intended to go to a few days later). No harm done though and I set off in good spirits.

I arrived on the island having made best new friends with a couple of Americans, 1 of whom couldnt carry her wheelie case and the other who couldnt lift his own backpack (hmmm veteran travellers) and became increasingly aware of the type of person who simply heads off blindly into SE Asia with no guide book, malaria prophylaxis, jabs, clue....! There are so many. He had been a medic in Iraq at the same time I was out there so we headed to the nearest bar after finding a bungalow to stay in ($2 per night -a record) and that is where my memory of the next 2 days ends. I failed to see said highest SE Asian waterfall, in fact I woke up 48hrs later in my bungalow with a vague memory of consuming a 'special milkshake' as the bar owner termed it and whilst my memory was gone, thankfully my wallet and all other essential equipment was intact. Lesson learnt. Dont accept milkshakes from strangers!!!

I left Si Phan Don and whilst i had only spent 2.5 days there, I felt i had sort of seen enough and started the headlong challenge to New Years and the beach. Tell you all about it next time! Suffice to say the corruption of Border Officials was present in full strength. Power corrupts. Absolute Power.....!

Bye for now