J: When we got cash out at Jinghong we only got a little for the night as it was Chinese Yen still and we didn't want to have left over money when we got to the Laos board. Turns out the boarder crossing didn't have an ATM and we didn't have enough cash to buy both visas!

So I left Sam at the boarder as collateral awaiting my return while I went to get cash out of the closest ATM. But when I did return the official wanted double because it wasn't Yen or Dollar. After some time of negotiating and showing him the currency exchange rates I paid what was right.

S: So after James returned to come and get me, we grabbed a taxi to the next village, bearing in mind we knew we wanted to get to Luang Namtha and it involved a bus at some stage. So we stood at what we had been told was the bus stop. (In the middle of a road with no signs.) All of a sudden a truck pulls over and asks where we are going, so we explained and the man named Sarayoot gave us a lift to our destination, free of charge. He was a pleasant guy from Thailand on his way to pick his brother up, and spoke none stop English all the way there.

J: We got dropped outside a hostel and straight away this town was full of backpackers. We had barely been there an hour before meeting a couple (Kate & Ryan) and had arranged a canoe trip with them. We had a great evening meal which was simply a spit roasted chicken and duck, a whole one of each to share!

S: The kayaking trip was amazing, the scenery was breath taking as you paddled along. We stopped off at a village when it started to pour down in a hut before continuing. We had a great lunch consisting of fresh BBQ fish, chicken with ginger, green beans, a kind of tomato sauce and sticky rice. Both the boats had a slight problem though as the back kept filing up with water and at one stage we thought they were going under especially going down the rapids. It was an amazing day and enjoyed by all.

J: We rented some town bikes and went for a ride to a waterfall just outside the town, we should have got mountain bikes as it was hard going. The waterfall was then through the jungle and was a hell of a walk for a nice waterfall. We also biked to a couple of temples at the top of the town one was being built and the other was lovely and cool which was needed after biking up the hill. Inside it has loads of decorations made of the local money, which was smart. The ride down was interesting as my bike had terrible brakes and even through I was squeezing fully I was still flying down!