Luang Prabang is one of the prettiest cities in Asia, it is UNESCO heritage listed. It really was quite pretty, a mix of architecture, lots of temples and mountains and near rivers. But we were a bit uninspired by it all (herds of gappers and yet more handicraft stalls) and we spent a good few days doing little but eating very budget nice food and Christmas shopping. We 'stayed another day' (the slogan aimed at tourists here in Laos is 'stay another day') to give blood (I nearly fainted) and in the end decided we shouldn't really miss out seeing some of the impressive waterfalls complete with turquoise natural pools suitable for swimming.

After this we had a dreamy bus ride to Nong Khiaw, and as soon as we got there we knew we would definitely stay another day. It was an amazing little town nestled on a river between huge limestone mountains and green forest. Finally it felt like we were in real Laos - rural and basic, but relaxed and pleasant to us and spectacular scenery. The electricity is intermittent to say the least. Our only problem was that we didn't have the cash to stay another day and do what we wanted. So the next day we rented a motorbike for the 8 hour round trip to Luang Prabang (the nearest cashpoint). We thought that it would be a nice day out - warm sunshine and cool breeze with time for a picnic and a good lunch, and the odd stop to admire the beautiful scenery. We passed through mist-covered mountains, little villages and even saw a real working elephant carrying bamboo down the road. This was all really nice, but the weather turned absolutely freezing! Picnic was out of the question, although we did stop for some excellent noodle soup to warm ourselves up. I had 3 layers and a fleece on, it felt like England! But when not on the bike I supposed it was ok. I remembered why not many people in the UK ride motorbikes. We arrived later than expected in Luang Prabang to find that the electricity was out and that all the ATMs were out too. But we found a working bank, grabbed a sandwich and then had to set off again immediately, as the roads are a bit too pot-holed to be driving around after dark. Despite this the last hour of our journey was in the dark (and for Lawrence, pitch-black as due to the bugs, he still had to wear his sunglasses). We both had saddle sores the next day but still we enjoyed our mission, especially seeing scenes of Lao life, kids on their way to school etc.

More scenes of Lao life the next day when we walked upstream and came across a Hmong village - cue lots of kids staring and wishing us 'sabaidee',and then motioning or asking for a pen. Obviously they were somewhat used to gawping Westerners coming to visit and giving out pens, we reckon one or two a day in peak season, just turning up out of the blue, there are no roads for miles. It was interesting (although we felt a bit guilty and voyeuristic) to see the bamboo stilt houses and set up of the village, but then again they also had a generator powered satellite so it wasn't that basic. The school was two rooms with solid wood tables and chairs and just one blackboard, but the view from the windows was amazing. The kids we've seen and heard have been pretty cheerful. Life must be hard, but there is also lots of laughing and playing. When we were out on bicycles for a day we saw more of these types of villages, with kids being washed in the cold river, and a fairly young boy collecting sacks of rocks and a woman collecting and washing river weeds. That sort of thing. They still seemed a lot more content than the kids near our house in Notts. But growing up and having to haul rocks/sand/bamboo for a living does not look like much fun, let's not pretend. We took a walk into the hills and sheltered from the now hot midday sun in a bamboo structure. It was truly beautiful with forested mountains and a river view, massive butterflies and perfect temperature. You could sometimes hear the kids in the distance playing, and the wind rustling the grasses, and it was really peaceful.

Unfortunately we could not 'stay another day' (we had spent 5 days there already) since we had found out that Thailand suddenly changed its rules on 30-day exemptions. Therefore we had to get to Vientiane to go to the Thai embassy to get a visa (we weren't the only ones either, to say the least). But anyway, we found out that there was a bus to Vientiane that passed through Nong Khiew 'usually sometime between 7-11pm', and we decided to be on it. We were told it could be a 12-15 hour journey, and we were mentally prepared for some hardship. But when the bus turned up at around 8.30pm it didn't look bad from the outside. Then we got on it and saw how crowded it was. We got a space fairly near the front, in the aisle of course, sitting on very hard stuffed sacks of rice. It was uncomfortable from the start, I couldn't comprehend how it would feel in 15 hours. But we got lucky, as after a couple of hours a load of people got off at one of the many stops the bus made, and we managed to get a seat. After the experience in the aisle, these seats were now absolute luxury and we managed to sleep for most of the rest of the journey (and it did take about 16 hours) - we must have been tired.

Now just getting up to date with internet and photo/blog business and sorting out visas, before we get the bus/train to Bangkok - I suspect a huge culture shock and am actually a bit frightened of Bangkok after being here in Laos for so long. The capital city is smaller and decidely more chilled than Nottingham, let alone Bangko