Luang Prabang is a pretty town. Listed by Unesco for its sympathetic development of character housing it's dominated by French influence. Baguettes and wooden shutters abound, and the towns narrow lanes add character to the older area of the town. There is an added charm as both the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers run through, complete with their bamboo bridges and children playing in the water in mid afternoon. The town teems with travellers young and old, some staying in upmarket resort hotels tastefully hidden, and others staying in the lower cost budget places like us. We arrived from Vang Vieng with Sandy and Rey, and although we stayed in different hotels we spent time together exploring the locality. One such trip was to the KuangSi waterfall, situated in the protected natural forest area. We was a lovely walk past the various smaller waterfalls and pools to reach The Big One. Admittedly not as big as in the rainy season, but impressive all the same. We were able to climb to the top of the falls and explore there- it was all very swallows and amazons as a couple paddled up on a small bamboo raft. On the way down Sandy and I ventured in for a swim- the water was really cold so it took some time to adjust, but once we'd acclimatised we were like water babies. We had to keep moving otherwise we were nibbled by the fish - obviously trainees for the local fish spa. At the bottom of the route was a bear sanctuary, housing a large number of bears which had been rescued from poachers or the illegal bile trade. Beautiful creatures which are disappearing fast from the nearby forests. It was good to see that although obviously not able to roam as before they had been provided with large areas with lots of stimulation, and company. One of the things which has given us the most pleasure in Laos has been the number of butterflies and insects. We found some of the strangest insects we have come across in the grounds of the Palace/museum. The strange little fellows were all on the same tree trunk in pairs. Their wings were green with small spots, and what appeared to be their head was like a red horn. If you touched the base of their wings with a piece of leaf they sprang from the tree trunk like a coiled spring. They were fascinating and later identified courtesy of google images as Lantern flies. After waving goodbye to Rey and Sandy who were heading to Bangkok for their return to San Francisco we planned how we would spend our remaining days in Luang Prabang. The town has a bustling night market along the main street each evening where visitors can buy all sorts of locally made goods, elephant pants and street food. This kept us busy in the evenings and resulted in yet another post office run. Although the budget is suffering from these parcel runs at least we can sit on our laurels knowing we are keeping the Royal Mail in business. There were two things we particularly wanted to do before leaving the town. One was a trip to the rice paddies, and the other a chance to try carving wood. Although the rice growing season is usually June onwards one of the community enterprises here has set up a farm where visitors can witness and participate in the going process all year round. The farm run by a group of local families produces enough rice to feed all the families involved plus some for germination the following year. Proceeds from tourist visits have enabled many young people from the community to attend school and further their education. On arrival at the farm we were given Vietnamese style bamboo hats, which John found difficult to keep on. Apparently he has a very small head - which explains a lot in my book, but we did eventually manage to find one to fit. As everyone arrived our guide Laut Lee explained about the farm, and led us out to the paddy along a series of narrow raised mud walls. With all of us standing on top of the little mud wall he explained that the first process was to plough the field. Traditionally this is done with the help of a water buffalo - enter Rudolph, a gentle pink skinned, course haired animal. Rudolph secured to the front of a single blade plough share then pulled the blade with a lot of "heuw, heuw" from the person in front and steering of the blade from the person behind. The wet earth made the whole process very strenuous for the person steering as many of the group found when they were given a chance to try. Once the earth has been cut and turned the next process is to plant the small seedlings which have germinated in the nursery bed. Everyone was given a handful of shoots and encouraged to wade in and plant them. By the time they came out it began to look like a surreal beauty regime, as everyone was plastered to the knees in shiny grey mud. One of the hazards of growing any crop outdoors is the numbers of little bodies who munch their way through the crop. In the case of rice the culprits are apparently the water snails, and large frogs. Laut lee showed us how easy it was to find the little munchers in his organic crop. Anything caught in the rice fields goes into the pot for the next meal. By the time the visit came to an end we had learned how to recognise harvest ready rice, how to thresh and remove the husks, and even what to cook with the results. We had a great time and John's feet have certainly benefitted from the beauty treatment. Around the town and markets there are many examples of carved wood, plaques and sculptures. We had discovered a fairly new enterprise - Backstreet Academy - who operate in a number of cities and towns across South East Asia. They offer the chance for people to try their hand at various crafts and activities. We read that previous attendees had attempted to make hand carved elephants, so we both jumped at the chance to see if we could make one. Lon our teacher spoke no English but with the help of a young local student, and demonstration he was able to convey which bits of the block of wood had to be chipped away. As the day went on our elephants started to come to life, and with a few extra chips from Lon here and there we managed to come away with two very respectable specimens. We were sorry to say goodbye to the relative comforts of Luang Prabang but it was time to head for some of the less visited areas of Laos before we started to think we were holidaymakers, not travellers.