Vientiane can pretty much be summarised as a quick stop in the city purely to see if I could find a camera charger. - - All the locals recommended trying at a Russian Market which specialises in random electronic crap. And sure enough....they had one!!!! - - I had gone with the view that I'd be bitterly disappointed, so when he pulled out an Olympus charger that worked I was jumping up and down! With hindsight I should have played it cool because now he knew ...

After a long, over heated drive we finally reached Luang Prabang in the late afternoon. This is predominately a backpacker town where the main attractions are 'tubing' and partying. - -Tubing is basically when you sit in a massive tyre inner tube and float down a winding river with the current. On either side of the water are bars and as you float past they throw a rope out to you and pull you in and give you a free bracelet and try to get you to come buy drink...

The next couple blog entries are a week or two behind so I will just bullet point what we did! - - LUANG PRABANG - - All eight of us caught a mini bus from Chiang Mai up to the border, stopping at Chiang Rai on the way to see the White Temple. - - We stayed the night here at the border at 'bang hostel'. Becca and I went for an explore and came across a bicycle museum (!) which we went in as it was free and there was nothing much more I do there. Next door ...

Haven't really updated that often because been busy with the group and so haven't had time. We stayed in Bangkok a little while longer once they had arrived and visited a few temples. We also paid to go on a day tour to visit the Floating Market (literally dozens of stalls on boats and you sail down the middle visiting them, and if something takes your fancy they pass over a long stick and pull you in close) The bridge over the river Quay, and Tiger Temple where...

One thing to add before commenting on Thailand, as I was checking in at a hostel for my last day/night in Tokyo I felt an earthquake while stood in the reception! There was a loud grumbling noise as if a large lorry was going past and the desk shook - and the receptionist didn't bat an eyelid... Anyway, after a 7 hour flight and finally landing in Bangkok I had to queue for about an hour and a half to get baggage. In the meanwhile I got talking with a guy named ...