It's nearly time to leave this very likeable UNESCO World Heritage town and the Mekong, but it's one of those places that you really become attached to - so pretty, so atmospheric and such fun to be in. It seems like a mini-UN, with visitors from all over the world, and guesthouses (of very varying standard - some are as good as hotels: our German friends recommend a new one called "LOTUS", near the "Les 3 Nagas" hotel and run by 2 Australians...

Arrived in Luang Prabang comfortably by Lao Airlines today (one feels safe enough but the planes must be at least 20 yrs old and at Xieng Khouang airport there was no security check whatsoever ) and wondered how our Japanese travelling companion, Ogino-san, had actually managed to take the so-called, non-air-conditioned "VIP" bus for 8 hrs through the mountains on a very windy road, with the locals throwing up around him, the whole 200 or so km from he...