Sorry for the lateness in getting another blog up - but we have not been able to get access quick enough to be able to use the laptop to up date the site.  I am going to attempt to fill you in on everything we have been up to, but I think at the same time will trynot to bore you!

After having a great time in Chiang Mai we jumped on a Loas airways plane to Luang Prabang in Loas.  Jo was some what worried about the plane - as she had made the mistake of looking at there saftey record!!  But to be fair to them they have a good record for international flights as all theses are french built aircrafts...

There was no escaping the New Year water festival as it was building up to the new year in Loas and they had the same festival!  We had booked ahead and found it really hard to find accommodation in the area is it was the busiest time of year.  Even though we paid over the odds at Sayo Guesthouse it was in a great location and the rooms must have taken a rainforest to built with the amount of wood used!  During our two days in the city we walked all the tourist sites and local markets.  It was all very beautiful - but cfouldn't get over how small it was - you couldn't really call it a city - it must have been quarter the size of Shrewsbury!

It was a public holiday for the locals so everyone was in good spirits and we joined them in what became a mass street party every where you went.  During the course of the day they were throwing soo much water we were absolutely soaked most of the time.  We did get a water pistol to defend ourselves - but we definately came off worst.  Many of the other tourists were in on the act as we saw many a water fight explode onto the streets!

After the madness of the city we headed to Loas spirit - which was a eco friendly retreat which was 15KM outside the city.  It was in a beatiful location looking onto an elephant camp and rolling mountains for as far as you could see.  It was quite a luxury resort - but we felt we deserved it - and the balcony of our hut was worth it alone (will upload the photo's shortly).

A lot of the time we generally just relaxed and took things easy, wondering to the local villages and making the most of what was the most isolated place I think you could go.  On our second full day we went on an elaphant trek with our Elephant Son and then trekked for 4 hours int the local area.  This was really good - but was hard work as it was 35 degrees and there was little cover for you when walking (not looking for sympathy!).  On our final day we were supposed to go on an all day trek but considering how hot it was we decided just to take it easy and make use of the views and balcony.

It was a really nice stay at Loas Spirit and would recommend it to everyone, especially as it helps so many elephants and also helps finance local projects for the villages - which are still very isolated and its hard to believe there is still so many problems with disentary and lack of medical aid.

We jumped on another Laos airlines flight and headed to Hanoi - Vietnam which was our first port of call. Jo this time was more relaxed about the flight and before we knew it we had arrived in our next country to explore.