Hello.....

The next chapter begins...

So Luang prabanag (LP) is stunning, I cant tell you how lovely, relaxed, peaceful and tranquil this place is! I now understand why people say its so nice! The town itself is very small and full of cafes and restaurants. There are monks everywhere! Since the start of my travels i have come to realise one important action we all do that means more than words..... to smile! Never has that been more true than here in LP. Its such a wondeful feeling to smile at someone and they smile back and wave. this is something we are not common with in England but i find everyday here! Its very uplifiting and when travelling on your own can sometimes make you feel less alone!

so the first day (heaven was peace & quiet) i had a walk around visited the temples and the palace museum. The heavens opened and i experienced the full force of a monsoon. was amazing! so i hid in coffee houses (mostly french by the way) until the rains passed some several hours later. Then the sun shone and it was so hot! lovely! I think i did more walking before meeting up with the others in the evening, ooohh i hadnt been well on this day so i had an early night after eating an omlette! very disapointing!

The next day i was up early to see alms only to miss it! hehe so i checked out of my Gh into another and went up pus si hill. overlooks the town. was beautiful. the sun shone and it was so hot. trust me having the sun is lovely after 2 weeks of cloud and rain. I then went to another temple and spent some time chatting to the monks.

I actually find one thing very difficult to deal with. I realised this while i was here. I was asking the monks and locals if they have travelled around laos / asia /the world. very few said they had left LP and all said they would love to but no money. I felt somewhat guilty that i was travelling through a country where the people didnt earn enough or nothing at all in some cases to even travel to the next town! theres me eating at the best places in town and sleeping in a very nice GH and these people dont have anything! i know my money is money in their pocket. i stopped bartering a long time ago and just paid! Its chump change to me and it means so much to them. its a very strange feeling. one i didnt like very much!

However chatting to the monks was wonderful and i spent an hour or so talking about everything, their english was fantastic! i was very impressed! i then had a manicure and pedicure and fell asleep for a couple of hours, bless them they just left me in the chair in the street hahaha. For those of you who know i apologise. But my sisters family have a friend out here who i was trying to meet up with and kept missing. weird experience.... as i had been down to his work and missed him again so i left him my number. i was busy buying in the night market (which is long) my phone goes and its somlith. was pleased to finally make contact. he was asking where i was and it turned out he was opposite me on telephone. we both started laughing. was very spooky. seeing as the night market is about half a mile long on 2 sides and we were both standing next to each other. he introduced me to his mother and sister. he wisked me off for noodles and then for a smoothie and then to his house to meet the rest of his family. was interesting! then i met the others (frenchies) for cocktails!

Next day i was meant to be going to the pak ou caves however i woke up very sick! i realised i was pushing myself way to much so cancelled the trip and went back to bed and slept all morning! in the afternoon i went to the waterfall and swam in the most spectacular sight! though i kept losing my shorts... no bikini bottoms and iv lost a bit of weight so nothing fits and they kept slipping off hehe.

en route back we came across 100 people pulling a longtail boat down through the town. was sucha sight. we jumped out and followed them all the way to the river. was chatting to many people (who me????) and it was for the annual boat race that takes place in LP every year. 12 or so boats compete with a hefty prize fund! was amazing to see, took loads of piccies!

after, we sat on the mekong and watched the sun go down with a beer laos. was the perfect way to end my time in LP.

Next day was up super early to catch the flight to BKK and i stumbled across alms, so i got to see it! yeah! was happening outside of my GH. was so cool. the frenchies were on the way to the airport to turned out we were on the same plane so i caught a lift with them. unfortunatley for me this day was my worst yet. and poor sarah got an email... sorry! love u loads! i was exhausted, tired, shattered, fed up, emotional. i started crying at the olympics, synchro hahaha. im laughing now as it was so ridiculous. was nearly going to get on a flight home as i just couldnt face the idea of travel any more, then realising that would be an even longer trip flew down to Koh samui!

im so glad i did, wow its another world down here. for once things happened when i needed them to the most! the taxi was so organised. jumped in and said i have no where to stay, im willing to pay this much take me somehwere. and he took me to paradise! im staying in the nicest place. bungalows in the beach, with a pool and a spectacular restaurant. i even have a day bed in my room with aircon Tv! was so well needed. so headed out for a divine meal overlooking the sea and the stars and headed off to bed early! i have extended my stay as i realised i needed to relax and take things easy. so i am now off to hunt for a bikini! and hit the pool all afternoon!

love u all millions, will upload photos soon!

Jo xxxxx