Vientiane is the capital of Laos, located midway between the North and South, it's a relatively sleepy place by world capital standards, but that adds to its charm. Traffic drives in an orderly manner on the right hand side of the road. Cars and mopeds/ scooters vie for position on the highway appearing in similar numbers, and the French colonial influence has provided stylish buildings, boulevards and crusty baguettes. Like all the other places on the trip so fa...

"You will be picked up between 7.15am and 7.45am from the hotel, and taken to the minibus " he said. The bus goes at 8 and takes about 8 hours" he said. " Yes, the minibus goes all the way to Pakse" he said "The luggage will all fit in the back, you won't need to sit with your luggage" he said. Oh how wrong he was. Despite our hotel contacting the driver twice the feeder bus didn't arrive until 8.10, which made us somewhat concerned as the main bus was scheduled ...