Bonjour from Laos! French flavour is rife here- bagettes, crepes, wooden shuttered windows and french style houses...et voila, c'est Luang Prabang! It is beautiful, right next to the mighty Mekong River and the mountains, with golden temples everywhere. Took a day cycling around the temples and the surrounding area as well as a trip on a slow boat to some caves, and swam in a blue blue lake under a waterfall. Even witnessed the Tak Bat (impressive as it starts at 6am!), a daily ritual where the novice monks are given their sticky rice and fruit for the day by the local people sat on mats on the pavement. It was an amazing thing to see the minks filing past, a stream of bright orange robes. Apparently if the monks oversleep they don't get any food for the day!