well we were supposed to be goin on the slow boat to laos which takes 2 days, but i wasn't feeling up to it and couldn't face being on a boat on the mekong river for that long, so me and pete paid an extra 600 baht each (10 pound) and decided to go on the speed boat. after telling the group that we were goin on the speed boat they all said they had heard its a nitemare, cramped and really noisy. great we had already paid.

after goin through another 20 passport checks, we got to our speed boat dock. no one there could speak english, we just got pointed the direction of the boat, and the guy tried charging me 2 dollars to take my bag!

the speed boat, and yes we were crammed on, no seat just the floor and enough room to sit with your knees up. we were given crash helmets and life jackets. the guy started up the massive engine and we were off, felt like the fastest boat i'd ever been on, it wasn't called speed boat for nothing. instead of taking 2 days to get to luang prabang we done it in 5 1/2 hrs.

ok if anyone reading this is gonna take the trip, i cant actually say that i would recommend the speed boat as u cant move, there are no toilets, no one speaks english (u wouldn't be able to hear them to speak anyway) and we got soaked when it started raining! but we did have some stops. we fianally arrived at luang prabang although it had been raining and i was cold we had got sunburnt quite bad. after getting our bags to the top of the muddy hill (well pete did) we got in a tuk tuk with one other guy. the tuk tuk wanted 400 baht, pete started goin mad but the driver wouldn't budge on price, and we paid it cos we didn't know were the hell we were and just wanted to find somewhere to stay. the ride was only 15mins (for 400 baht a taxi in bangkok would drive you round for bout 3 hrs!) - they seen us comin!

To be honest we had never heard of Laos, and only came so that when we went back to Thailand we would have another 29 days on our Visa. I am so glad we came the place is full of charm and culture. Luang Prabang is one main street with nice little guest houses and resturants and bars, but it has a holiday feel about the place. You easily meet people here, and see them almost everyday, as you will bump into them somewhere along the main street.

temples we went and seen a couple of their temples, and also climbed Phoussi hill, to see the stupa, and also down the steps where we saw the Buddha cave and the Buddhas foot (spelt Buddhas FOOF!) we have proberly got about 1000 pics of Buddhas and temples!

Trekking we booked to go on a walk, i had already told the tour operators that we only had fluip flops, and was assured that it was an easy stroll goin to see the waterfall. we got picked up and taken firstly to the elephant camp to see elephants then the walk began. there were 2 other girls from french canada! the walk was turning into a full blown trek, we were walking up steep hills, and it was muddy. We couldn't stand up, as soon as we got mud on our flip flops we were just sliding off them. Pete was goin mad cos he kept falling over, and he was blaming me! it was easier goin barefooted, i couldn't believe i was treading bare foot in a boggy muddy jungle, where we didn't recognise half of the creepy crawlies and had to look out for snakes, spiders and leeches! we stopped for lunch and i said to the tour guide that we were finding it hard, he told us we had another 3 hrs. The frenchie canadian piped up then by saying "well you have booked to go on a trek!" i looked over and i thought pete was gonna punch her one! It turns out we were on the wrong tour, we were in fact on the hard all day jungle trek, and not goin to the waterfalls!!!

we did get to visit some local villages, which was fascinating, and learnt all about their traditions, beliefs and way of living. We met a group of kids who were watching us, and we took their pictures - we showed them their pictures on the camera and they just burst out laughing, they thought it was hysterical. I dont think they had ever had their pictures taken before. I so wish i could have printed that picture out and given it to them x

Cooking Class we attended a Laos cooking school which was fantastic there was a group of about 10 of us, and everyone was great. we got taken to the local markets and shown all the different fish, meat, spices and vegtables which was fascinating to see. Then we went back and our teacher Liang showed us how to cook up some tasty treats like Luang Prabang salad, and spicy pork noodle and curry. and we got to eat it all, it was tasty! i cant wait to camoe home and cook for anyone who will try it!!