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After our expedition we went for a well deserved beer with Gen at Lao Lao Gardens which is a great bar/restaurant with fairy lights all over the trees and a fire in the middle - just in case we get cold!
We spent the next day exploring the temples, starting at Wat Xieng Thong and then going to Phu Si - more walking up hills in the heat and Buddhas everywhere. One for every day of the week - honestly. It was a bit odd seeing a machine gun at the top with the communist flag flying. There is a lovely night market every evening and loads to do apart from temples and the place has a very relaxed gentile atmosphere. There is a compulsory curfew at midnight and it gets really quiet after 10pm as most Lao people get up about 5am.
Wednesday we were up at 5.30am to see the alms giving ceremony, where people line the streets to give rice to all the monks - one of our highlights. We then went to see the fresh produce market which was brimming with interesting food we didn't fancy eating. Everything was very fresh, live fish, bugs and frogs in buckets. Then on to see some more temples, I particularly liked the Buddhas 'calling for rain' although we are not tempted to bring one home. We spent the afternoon at Kuang Si waterfalls about 32 km out of town. Of course we couldn't resist walking to the top so more huffing and puffing. Getting across the top involved a lot of paddling and slipping on mud followed by a scramble down the other side barefoot. We really enjoyed the swim after yet another trek. We passed a bear sanctuary so had a look the very chilled out bears rescued from poachers. We spent a very pleasant evening at Utopia, another fab restaurant with views over the Nam Khan river - of course it was dark so we enjoyed the ambient lighting instead.
We are flying to Siem Reap tomorrow - another day another country. We have had a fantastic time in Laos, despite being one of the poorest countries in the world the people are friendly and laid back with no tourist hassling. Highly recommended by us.
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PP Great to hear your news hun Pxx