The journey to Luang Prabang was about 5.5 hours along a bumpy, windy road up through the mountains. I particularly notived it being bumpy as I had a great big steel bar running under my seat which would lodge itself deeper into my behind with every bump and grimd of the minibus. However, the journey was worth it when we got there as Luang Prabang appeared to be lovely. Set on the Mekong River, Luamg Prabang is a small town with a quaint French colonial feel to it. After searching around for somewhere to stay, I finally settled for a very clean guesthouse on the river front and bargained my way to a better deal for the room. I managed to get them down to only US$6.50 per night, which was a bargain! I was quite amused when I looked at my keyfob to identify the name of the guesthouse, being "Silichit" (pronounced 'Silly s***'!!). Lots of time was spent perusing the fabulous shops with local handicrafts in them and I must have taken several walks up and down the night market admiring the handmade soft furnishings and paintings. Needlesstosay, I came away with a bag full of stuff as it was all so well made and so cheap. Now I have lots of new bedding (something I don't actually need) and some local artwork, which I will have framed on my return. The rest of my time was spent orientating myself to the place and one day I hired a long boat to take me to the caves where there were hundreds of little gold and stone Buddas dotted around them. Whilst i had the boat, I took advantage and went to see a tribal village to a mooch about, which was also interesting. Tried some rice wine stuff, fermented with a huge big snake in the bottle, which they called Laos Whisky. I wasn't sold and left empty handed and a little light headed! Another day I hired a tuk tuk to take me to the waterfalls, which seemed like a very long way along a very dusty road. When I got there I, my black shorts were brown from the dust and I could even taste it in my mouth. I hoped it was going to be worth the hour long journey there and hour back! On the way up to the waterfalls, I visited a couple of animal enclosures where I got to stand face to face with Tigers and Bears - truly incredible. The tiger was chmping the flesh off a huge bone when I saw him, exposing his enormous teeth - you could literally smell the flesh as he ripped it off the bone! the waterfalls were stunning and I was dyiing to get in, but set myself the challenge of climbing to the top first before I rewarded myself with the treat of jumping into the swimming area at the bottom. The water was cold but welcoming, and sitting in some of the natural rock pools, you could let the flowing water (strongly) massage your back. It was quite tricky to hold on and not get washed away in fact! I would defintely reommend a visit to Laos and Luang Prabang if any of you are ever over this way as it's truly magical. The Laos people are incredibly friendly, well mannered and always willing to help you. I thin time will change Luang Prabang as they seem to be gearing up for a high class, high paying clientelle. there are lots of fancy hotels being built in and around the town, which in my opinion will completely spoil the place. I can understand why the 'rich and famous' would want to visit this lovely town, but bringing them over in their hoards will have a knock on effect with the locals and their culture, to their detriment. Visit soon, before it changes too much is my opinion. Having had enough of buses and tuk tuks I decided to fly to Thailand from here as it's just much easier isn't it? The only hesitation was that it was with Laos Aviation, who have a terrible reputation for safety (in fact they won't publish their safety record as it's that dire!). So it's off to Chiang Mai next, where you'll hear from me next. Much love, Stephen xxx