Today we decided to go visit the elephants at the falls. The visit not only included riding elephants, but also swimming with them in the river. Afterward, we visited one of the Buddhist temples in the centre of Luang Prabang. Boys will become Buddhist monks as young as 7 or 8 years old, because it means they can get an education. We also went to the fish spa, where fish nibble the dead skin cells off your feet. Finally we went for dinner at the night markets. Ea...

Well half the way by boat. We went by boat down the Nam Ou river from Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw, then dad quickly organised a private van for eight of us (a retired Polish couple, a doctor and his girlfriend from Slovakia, a retired US fellow, dad, Zawadi and I) to Luang Prabang. It was 5 hours by boat then 3 hours by van. The river trip was amazing. Buffalo bathing, little villages along the way that can only be accessed by the river, gold dredges, small Rapids a...

Today we finally crossed the border in to Laos. We pulled up in a small town near the border, to organise the trip to Luang Prabang by river and car. Compared to Vietnam, Laos is very laid back.