Hello... Well Laos is quite stunning. The mountains are incredible and the weather is Hot! It was quite a treck to get from Thailand as we had to cross the border and then make our way up in to Laos. The first village we stayed at was just a stopover in between places. It was quite an eery place that was very local. It took us ages to work out which places were restaurants and which we just peoples houses.There was no electricity and it was really quiet. Our guest house was nice and we were the only guests, so it didn't matter so much about the noise level,however... it was haunted and i ended up in someone elses room for the night because my locked door kept unlocking itself and creeking open! really weird but i suppose you had to be there. We then made our way up to Luang Prabong its further north and a really nice place. we visited a waterfall on our second day.It was great and the largest i have ever seen.There was a rope swing over the lagoon that i hoged for ages! We stayed the night at an ever more local guesthouse that was right next to the waterfall,it was great.Once again,there was no electricity and we pretty much had the place to ourselfs(photos coming soon) Next stop Van Vieng... well not so good im afraid! It was just one road really that was full of restaurants and bars. In 5 years it will be like the front at Blackpool. On our first night we went for a pizza to a place that looked nice and had western Tv showing. some of the group decided to try a "Happy Shake" they had posters about them that were saying that they make you laugh. I was a little weary as i know what goes in them (magic mushrooms and hash) but a few of the girls got them and i shared one with Elisa,even though in the guide books they warn you off them and call them (un)happy shakes. Alan and James didn't have one (thankfully) Any way...after about half an hour the girls were saying that nothing had happened and they felt fine but i felt really ill and headed back to our room. To cut a long story short the shakes had a massive effect on the girls and me,Al and James spent the next 2 days telling them that we were not trying to kill them and that we were looking after them.They were in a massive state of paranoia. Michelle left the room in the night and was missing for 30 hours. Me and Elisa went to every guest house and restaurant with her picture asking if anyone had seen her. I was worried sick! We ended up going to the police for advice but it was just one topless man that didn't speak english and found it really funny that we didn't understand each other. There is no British embassy in Laos but there is a German one so Elisa (who is german) tried calling them but they were not open until Monday! It was a nightmare! In the end we thought it a good idea to make some missing posters. Reality really set in then and i thought how i should be enjoying myself on my holiday,not reporting a missing person. Michelle left everything in the room but we tried calling her mobile and she answerd...ThankGod! I was so relieved that she was ok. She had got in such a state that she was on her way home to England. A massive shock as her luggage was in the room but she just said she had to go. I can't believe they are allowed to sell these shakes after seeing the effect it can have on people. I'm so lucky that i only had a few sips! On a brighter note we are now in Vienaine,the capital of Laos. Its really nice and has a good vibe and nice shops.Tomorrow we are heading back down to Thailand to do Ko PhiPhi (where "The Beach" was filmed) and Phuket. I will report back soon. Hope everyone is good. Missing you all.x