Sun 16th - Sat 22nd Feb (Week 21)

Sun 16th - Arrived into Hanoi from our overnight sleeper train from Sapa at 5am. Had to wait around in the cold and dark for our hotel pickup at 5:30, then had breakfast and used the wifi in the hotel until our taxi to the airport at 9:30am. Our Vietnam Airlines flight was bang on time, and we arrived into Luang Prabang at 1:15pm. Got our Visa on Arrival, some cash, and a minibus to our hostel. Headed out at 3pm to grab some food, check out the area, then decided to climb Mt. Phousi (300 steps) for sunset over the town and the Mekong river. Wandered along the Night Markets afterwards, admiring all the beautiful things, and had a fantastic dinner at Coconut Gardens of satay, chicken fried rice and pad thai, in a stunning garden.

Mon 17th - Walked along the Mekong river bank checking out the view, restaurants and all the beautiful Wats along the way. Had a nice chicken baguette from a stall for lunch for 75p ! Went into Wat Xieng Thong (best in LPB) which was exquisitely decorated with paintings and glass mosaics. Popped into a few other Wats along the way, then went to the Royal Palace Museum which was also stunning, both inside and out. Had a lovely dinner overlooking the Mekong where Brandon found his much-missed Mango Sticky Rice, and I found a kitten that happily slept in my arms whilst I had dessert !

Tues 18th - Took a long boat over to the other side of the Mekong this morning and spent 1.5hrs visiting the 3 Wats over there, and a very impressive cave which we were shown around by torchlight by a young boy. Had another 75p chicken baguette from a stall for lunch, then caught a minibus at 1:30 to Kuang Si Waterfalls. Walked up and down the very steep and slippery path to the top, only to realise you couldn't actually see anything from up there! Really impressive large waterfall though, and then a series of beautiful turquoise pools that you could swim in. I took a very quick dip as it was freezing, but also nice and refreshing.

Wed 19th - Got up at 5am to watch the alms giving to the monks along the main road in town. Wandered around in the dark for a while and at about 6:15am loads more people arrived - some just watching like us, and others sitting on the pavement to give food to the monks. Groups of saffron-robed monks started filing past with their baskets to collect food for the day. It was really interesting to watch, but also a shame how much of a tourist sight it has become with some people taking photos right in the monks faces etc. Went back to bed from 8-11 then headed out to do the remaining Wats around town such as Visoun, Aham, Sop, Sere, Phonexay etc. Some are more plain than others, but some are just exquisite, so colourful and detailed. Visoun is one of the oldest in town and had some wooden Buddha statues from 14thC. Went back to Tamarind Tree for an afternoon snack of mango sticky rice, and I found my kitten again ! Had some cocktails in the beautiful Lao Lao Gardens bar, then wandered around the Night Markets and bought a nice silk scarf.

Thurs 20th - Got picked up at 8 for our 1/2 day tour to the Pak Ou Caves. Went on a long boat with 4 others and made the 2 hour trip up the Mekong river - passing locals swimming and washing their clothes, water buffalo etc. The caves were fairly small but every little ledge and hole were filled with Buddha statues of all shapes and sizes and has been used for centuries. Arrived back at 1pm, had lunch and had an afternoon nap !

Fri 21st - Checked out at 7:30, headed to the bus terminal and boarded our "local" bus to Phonsavan. Looking around, all the other more popular routes had lovely new tourist buses, but our route is less popular, therefore we get the old local bus ! It wasn't actually too bad, less than half full so we had 2 seats each, lots of leg room and fairly quiet. But it was pretty rickety, creaky and bumpy ! We had one toilet stop in 7 hours, and that was by the side of the road which wasn't great for the women ! But did have a nice baguette and some mango at our lunch stop. Arrived into Phonsavan at 4pm, bought bus tickets to Vang Vieng for Sunday, and headed to our hostel. Went straight out and booked a tour for tomorrow then went to the MAG (Mine advisory group) and watched a very moving and informative 1hr film about how Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world, ever, all during the "secret war" of 1964 to 1973 when the US and N.Vietnam went against the Geneva Accord which made Laos a neutral territory. It endured 580,000 bombing missions, unleashing 2 tons of ordnance per inhabitant, and now, 40 years on people are still being killed due to hidden UXOs which are everywhere. And possibly the worst part is that US pilots that couldn't drop their bombs in Vietnam due to bad weather then just dumped them over Laos as they couldn't land with their bombs aboard. Just incredible.

Sat 22nd - Went on a day tour with Sousath Travel at 9am and had an excellent guide, trained by UNSCO. We visited the Plain of Jars sites 1,2 and 3 - all great for different reasons. Site 1 had the biggest and best jars and largest area, site 2 had good views of the surrounding area, including a good overview of the pock marked landscape from all the bomb craters, and site 3 for the lovely walk through local rice paddy fields and landscape. The jars varied in sizes, and there are various theories about their purpose, but the main one seems to be they were created 2,500 years ago for placing cremated remains inside. We also visited a Russian tank, a local village where they use melted down UXO to make spoons and other trinkets, and an impressive waterfall. Really fascinating and enjoyable day, worth the 7 hours to get here, and probably 7 more to get to Vang Viang tomorrow.