Once we were off the slow boat in Luang Prabang and reunited with Simone and Kai, we were instantly assailed by tens of eager Laotians trying to promote their guesthouses. Taking a few business cards, we ignored our way past the rest of the touts and made our way up the boat ramp and into town. We walked through the streets, between the beautiful if faded french villas which made up the old portion of the town, until we found a street with a high concentration of guest houses. We had a look in a few and managed to get the owners to try and undercut each other in a bid for our business. In the end we got a room with two big double beds, a private bathroom and cable TV for 45000 kip a night, which worked out at around £4.

With our room secured, we dropped off our bags and went for a drink with Simone and Kai to a bar on the nearby main street of the town, Sisavangvong Street. After catching up, we all walked down the main street, past the numerous chilled out bars and restaurants, past the old royal palace and the hill, Phou Si, which dominates the old town, on a peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. We soon reached the bustling H'mong night market, where local minority people sold their wares every night. We met another German couple who Simone and Kai had met on their slow boat journey, and the six of us made our way through the market, in my case stooped over to avoid being decapitated by the tarpaulins covering the market.

After looking at the various souvenirs and hand made crafts the stallholders had for sale, we made our way to the 'food alley' just off the market, where a narrow lane was filled with stalls selling all kinds of food. Simone and Kai took us to a section where there were loads of buffet stands offering an all-you-can-fit-on-a-plate meal for 10,000 kip (Less than £1). We filled our plates with vegetables, noodles and rice and paid a little extra to add some meat, in the form of some sausages.

After our cheap and tasty meal (accompanied by a beer, obviously) we walked through the streets of town to an area on the far side of Phou Si where there were a few bars. Simone and Kai took us to Lao Lao Garden, a sprawling, mainly outdoor place spread up a terraced hillside and lit with lanterns and fairy lights. We had some happy hour cocktails and free shots of Lao Lao, the local rice whisky, then walked back around the hill to our guest house where we had a shower and headed off to bed.

The next morning we had a late start, already falling into the relaxed Lao pace of life. We arranged to keep our room for another night, dropped of some laundry then headed out to have a wander around town. We walked around in the sunshine, just enjoying the laid back atmosphere and pretty buildings. The tuk tuk drivers still shouted 'tuk tuk' every time you walked near them, or the Luang Prabang signature 'Tuk tuk, waterfall!' (referring to the popular trips out to the waterfalls in the surrounding countryside) but unlike in Thailand, dropped it after we gave them a polite 'No thanks' and people in general seemed friendly.

We soon ended up at JoMa cafe, a smart modern coffee shop where we chilled out, literally, in air conditioned comfort and enjoyed an amazing tuna melt and some free wifi access. After that we just meandered through the streets back to the hotel where we showered and relaxed (After a sort day of doing nothing) then went out again to try and find somewhere for dinner.

We walked further up the peninsula of the old town, finding more recently renovated buildings housing fancy hotels and restaurants the further we went. Some of the buildings were beautiful with large open arches and white, cream or yellow painted walls, all lit with lanterns and surrounded by palms.

However, many of the restaurants were a bit out of our budget, so our path took us down to the Nam Khan riverside, where we stumbled across a busy outdoor restaurant offering Lao BBQ for two for only a few quid. We found a seat at one of the packed tables, and soon a guy came across to install a stone bowl in the middle of the table which he filled with red-hot coals and topped with a rounded metal dish like an inverted wok with a lip and holes in it, just like Korean BBQ.

However, the Lao BBQ differed from the Korean in that we got a big kettle of soup stock, as well as a basket of fresh herbs and vegetables to cook in the rim of the BBQ, along with pork, chicken and beef to grill on the top. We spent a fun if rather warm half hour cooking and eating our delicious feast before wandering along the riverside, lined with bars and restaurants on stilts lit up for the evening.

We made our way once more behind Phou Si, past the bars we had seen the other night and took a turn to the left, following the course of the river. We stopped at a stand for a chocolate and banana crepe, where we met the girls we had eaten dinner with in Pak Beng during our slow boat journey. They were heading to the same place as us, so we all followed some signs which took us down quiet, narrow cobbled alleyways between houses until we arrived at Utopia, a big chilled out bar and restaurant with a conical bamboo dome covering a seating area, and tables and a volleyball court set along the banks of the Nam Khan.

We had a few drinks at Utopia, enjoying the lights along the river and the pleasant temperature of the evening, before making our way back through the town and crashing out for the night.

Having not seen very much of town the day before, we decided to hire some bikes when we got up the next morning. We picked them up from a shop just up from our guesthouse, then rolled down to the road along the riverside, just around from our guest house. We made our first stop at Saffron Cafe, where we had a fantastic breakfast sitting at a table on a balcony extending out over the river bank above the Mekong. Lucy went for some bacon and eggs while I had the most amazing french toast with stewed banana and mango and syrup, which was probably one of the most delicious breakfasts I have ever eaten.

After breakfast we trundled around the peninsular old town, stopping at various temples such as the Xhieng Khong temple, which had a cool mosaic of the tree of life glittering in the sunshine on its rear wall and another temple with a photography exhibition showing some of the famous monks from Luang Prabang's history. We took things at a slow pace, just enjoying cruising between the crumbling French villas and the temples with their gaudy gold ornamentation, eventually ending up at the Nam Khan riverside again.

We stopped here for a drink, again sitting on a balcony overhanging the riverbank, with a fantastic view of the river with the town behind it and the jungle-clad hills rising in the distance behind that. Refuelled and rested, we continued our cycle around the Nam Khan, stopping at yet another temple where we saw some boys trying to coax some coconuts down from a palm tree with the aid of a 20ft pole.

From there we headed into a slightly newer area of town, before turning off to cross the old communist bridge spanning the Nam Khan, a planked structure of iron girders, now only open to pedestrian and bikes. On the far side of the river we found ourselves in a mainly residential area, and we cycled down some quiet streets taking a look at the houses of the local people, mainly very modest. Along the far side of the river behind some hotels and guest houses we found an old ruined temple, where we stopped for a few minutes before heading back across the communist bridge and down the alleyways to Utopia again.

At Utopia we took a break from the heat and relaxed with a cool drink and some plantain crisps, before getting back on our bikes and exploring some more of the town, heading to some of the streets south of the peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Khan. We stopped at a couple of other temples and just cruised around the streets before dropping off the bikes at the shop.

After a shower and a bit of a chill back at the hostel, we set off about an hour before sunset through the main streets, just as the H'mong market was being set up. Squeezing between some stalls, we climbed the age-worn and mossy stone steps up the steep sides of Phou Si, bought some tickets for the temple at the top and carried on with our climb before emerging onto the narrow hill top. Besides the small and rather unassuming temple on the hill, the main attraction of the climb was the view, which was breathtaking. By walking around the top of the hill we were treated to a panoramic view over Luang Prabang below us, with the rivers on either side and the jungle extending in every direction around it, to the lush hills on every horizon.

We spent quite a while on the hilltop just enjoying the view, and the shifting light as the sun made its way towards the horizon. As sunset approached, more and more people appeared at the temple until there was a large crowd there for the sunset. Although the circus feeling detracted a bit from it, the sunset from the top of Phou Si was spectacular, with the sun casting the most amazing light over the layered vista of jungle and river below us as it slipped below the horizon.

After sunset, we descended into the bustle of the night market and once again made our way to the food alleyway where we got some more plates of 10,000 kip buffet food, this time supplemented with some grilled river fish.

After dinner we made our way back to the guest house, stopping first for a fruit shake and to buy some cakes from a stall, then at one of the tourist shops offering trekking. Having sussed out our options on our various trips through town, we had decided to sign up for a trek with a company offering 'Fair Trek' options which plough their profit into supporting the hill tribe villages visited on their itineraries. With our trip for the next day sorted, we returned to the guest house and watched some TV before calling it a night.

The next morning we got up early, and headed through town to the meeting point at a cafe in the centre of town. On the way we grabbed a filled baguette (baguettes being very popular in Laos, a remnant of French influence from the colonial era) and a fruit shake for breakfast. At the meeting point we met an Australian woman, Kirily, who had signed up for the trek as well. We were quite pleased as we'd paid a higher price when we booked our trek because it was just the two of us going, but knew that we would get a partial refund since there was someone else joining us now.

Shortly our guide Kit turned up with a driver in a pickup and we all hopped in. We were driven out of town, along a paved road then a dirt road before arriving at the elephant sanctuary, the starting point for our trip.

At the sanctuary, we sat at a table on the banks of the Nam Khan with a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside and distant, towering limestone cliffs, and were given an overview of the sanctuary's programme which involves caring for elephants resuced from lives working in illegal logging in the jungle. After a coffee and an overview of our itinerary for the day, we made our way down the bank of the river and onto a narrow little longtail boat, which motored us across to the far bank of the river.

As we approached the far bank, we could see a group of elephants being prepared for their morning's work, and we were soon off the boat and amongst the elephants, who looked like they had had hard lives but seemed quite content now. We were introduced to the elephants we would be riding that morning, and after some photos we climbed up the platform and onto the elephant's back, not such a strange event after our excursion in Chiang Mai.

Once seated on our elephant, we set off into the jungle for an hour's trek. I opted to sit on the elephant's neck again to try and get the hang of it, and was soon quite comfortable, despite us climbing up some steep and incredibly muddy slopes

and our elephant's tendency to rip down massive bamboo plants and flail them around with its trunk as it tried to break off bite-sized chunks. We plodded through the jungle in a meandering loop before returning to the starting point.

After dismounting and thanking our elephant, we watched the big grey guys chowing down on some tasty leaves, well earned after carting us through the jungle. After that, we set off on foot, at first following the path we had taken on the elephants, but then after a short climb emerging from the jungle into some of the most beautiful scenery we had experienced. Bright green fields of sticky rice surrounded us, with fairly new-growth jungle surrounding that in turn (new-growth as a result of the slash-and-burn farming practices still employed by the locals) all backed by the towering limestone cliffs, clung to by more jungle plants.

We made our way through this beautiful country along fairly well-trodden paths, passing women weeding their family rice fields (the majority of their food for the year, so deserving of daily care), past fields of sesame and through jungle re-growth. After a rather hairy river crossing at one point, involving walking across a semi-submerged log through the swollen torrent, we suddenly found ourselves in the Khmu village we had been making for. As the adults were all out working in the fields, the village was populated only by old people, kids running around and playing happily between the bamboo houses, and the odd goat, duck, dog or piglet.

We made our way through the village, which was actually quite extensive and more developed than we had expected (though still very rustic) and were treated to a lunch of fried rice wrapped in a banana leaf, which we didn't realise our guide had been carrying with him all morning. After eating lunch surrounded by fluffy ducklings running around in the dirt we had a walk around the village, checking out the bamboo houses and the kids playing everywhere, before setting off to our next destination. On the way out of town we came across a local guy with a massively long home-made gun across his shoulder, off into the jungle to hunt.

Following another heavily used path, evidently the main path to and from the village, we continued through forest and past more lush green fields, before scrambling down a steep, muddy trail heavy with elephant footprints then along a final stretch of trail to our next stop, Tad Sae waterfall.

We were immediately blown away by this amazing place, despite it being packed with visitors, both locals and tourists. Water poured down through a wide area of hundreds of stepped limestones pools, all at different heights and with trees growing seemingly straight out of the river. Rickety bamboo bridges and walkways criss-crossed the whole area, leading to tree houses, and a series of ziplines zig-zagged between trees above the pools and falls.

We didn't wait long before changing and plunging into the cool, refreshing water, the perfect cure to the heat of the day. After splashing around for a bit, trying out the tyre swing and climbing among the pools we dried off and started to make our way back to town. We first caught a longtail boat from the river bank below the river, cruising downstream past the outflow from the falls through the trees, and back to the elephant sanctuary, before getting back in the pickup and driving the bumpy dirt roads back to town.

After being dropped in town, we walked back to the trek place to get our refund, which was a nice bonus, then made our way back to the guesthouse for a shower and a nap.

After resting for a while we headed out to get some dinner, deciding to try out a recommended restaurant, Tum Tum Cheng, which also hosted a cookery school. We had checked out the menu and, although it was expensive compared to what we had been paying, we decided to give it a try based on the reviews, to taste some real Lao dishes.

We weren't disappointed, and enjoyed a great meal accompanied by some traditional music and dancing on a stage in the restaurant. We had a crispy fried rice salad with pork and some incredible spiced pumpkin soup, followed by a Lao beef stew and some fish laap, the salad of chopped up meat with fresh herbs and lime dressing. The meal was only spoiled slightly by the unmistakeable sounds of cat congress in a nearby alleyway.

After dinner we walked back to the guest house, then stayed up reading for a while before dropping off to sleep.

After our busy day, we had another long lie before sticking in some laundry and taking a walk through town. Once again we ended up in JoMa cafe, where we stayed for hours in the air conditioned cool, updating our photos and blog.

In the late afternoon we wandered up to the old royal palace, which was now a museum. We looked around the temple in the grounds, admiring the red and gold ornamentation on almost every surface, before checking out the museum itself. We were quite surprised at how modest the palace was, consisting of a large throne room surrounded by 5 or 6 big rooms furnished quite basically. There were various historical artefacts and royal memorabilia, but we didn't spend too long in the museum.

The main attraction at the museum was a small and very old gold statue of Buddha, which the town was named after. The statue was rather underwhelming despite its age. After looking around the museum we checked out a nearby building which had a fairly interesting exhibition on life along the Mekon river, before heading to a cafe for a drink then back to the guest house.

Back at the guest house, we caught up with our families on Skype and relaxed, before heading out to Lao Lao Garden again. Just after we arrived at the bar, the most torrential rainstorm started, accompanied by deafening thunder and lightning. We opted to have some more Lao BBQ and enjoyed watching the world go by in the downpour as we cooked and ate our dinner. After eating, we braved the rain to check out a nearby bar which was recommended as a fun place. However, thanks to the rain it was completely dead so we decided to take a roundabout route back to the guest house, so we could pass through the H'mong market one last time. To our disappointment, the market was completely deserted by the time we got there, the sellers obviously having packed up and cleared out thanks to the rain.

It was quite strange to walk up the main street, completely deserted in contrast to its usual night-time bustle. We shortly made it back to the guest house and dropped off to sleep for the last time in Luang Prabang.

The following morning I woke early and couldn't get back to sleep. Having heard about the famous early morning procession of monks through the town to collect offerings of food, I decided to head outside in time to catch the monks at 6am. I was glad I did, as I got a great view of the town in the dawn light, just as it was waking up. Villagers lined the streets with bowls of sticky rice, waiting for the monks who shortly turned up, carrying bowls into which the locals put balls of rice. The bright orange of the monks' robes was striking in the muted light of the early morning, and it was a nice way to start the day.

After the procession, we both got up and packed our bags before heading out to grab some breakfast. We had booked a minibus to Vang Vieng which was due to pick us up at 0730. We got some breakfast at a nearby cafe and some filled baguettes to take away, before returning to the guest house only to find a packed sawngthaew waiting outside for us. We quickly piled our bags onto the roof and hopped in, before being shipped to a bus station somewhere in town where we got packed into a minibus, ready for the journey.