Wednesday 11th January We get up at a reasonably decent time and go sightseeing in the ridiculously small capital that is Vientiane. The weather definitely has taken a turn for the better and it's a glorious day. There is hardly any traffic on the roads which is a welcome change from Hanoi and the peace and quiet is almost freaky. We walk around to cries of sab-a-dee from the locals which in our excellent Lao means hello. It seems these people really are glad to see us here. From the riverbank of the Mekong we can see Thailand on the other side. The morning consists of visiting numerous Wats which are all very resplendent and colourful and there are noticeably more monks walking around than in Vietnam. Stu is dying to see a Wat called WatsUpDoc but unfortunately it doesn't exist. Those Buddism dudes probably had a sense of humour bypass. Perhaps it's the ratio of monks to locals that really stands out rather than the unusual number of the orange coloured ones (they've been Tangoed right?) Note to reader: As I am writing this in Luang Prabang a trainee monk dude has just sat down next to me at another computer. How bizarre! I'll keep an eye out and see if he starts searching for porn.... Lunch is a BLT sandwich for Stu and Amy has fried rice We carry on our walk around town and visit the national history museum which by usual communism standards is not too biased and rather informative. From what we can make out (not all the signs were in English) there appears to be some guy with a big mole (prime minister or something) who has played a big part in the recent history of Lao. We update the internet in the early evening and retire to our room for a bit of relaxation. Despite eating crickets and a whole manner of unusual spices and stuff so far we have not been struck down (touch wood) with the dreaded Delhi belly. Ice cubes have generally been on the menu and local delicacies at the markets have been tried but the old intestinal systems have been standing up pretty well. Unfortunately though Aims wasn't feeling her best tonight so we pass up the invitation of meeting a few friends from the infamous bus journey and eat at the hotel. On this occasion the food isn't the best as Stu's mushrooms are rather chewy and Amy's spaghetti bolognaise is, well pretty terrible with it being more like spaghetti with tomato sauce. Anyway another day is over and we watch Total Recall on HBO and I actually understand it for the first time. Thursday the 12th January Monk dude is currently on hotmail. More sightseeing today as we hire bikes and cycle round the town. Lovely and hot again. We go to see Pha That Luang which is the most famous Stupa come Wat in Laos and it's very nice. (How else do you describe Wats anyway, it's like going to hundreds of churches and trying to describe one from the other) I think I am getting Wat fatigue. We ride to the unknown soldier's memorial which is very well kept. Not much else to say about that really as they didn't know who he was, hence the name of the memorial. We stop for Lunch at a local eatery, Amy has fried rice with veggies and Stu has a noodle soup. In the background Spurs are playing Leicester in a 'live' re-run. The less said about that the better really. Can you believe that I am nervous sat next to the orange one right now? We spend the afternoon just chillin and update the internet. Tomorrow we head north to Vang Vieng as we have decided to complete a Northern loop of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. We stumble across a great bar in the middle of town overlooking the Mekong and the sunset is fantastic. Once more the Beer Lao are flowing and Amy is losing to Stu at pool. French meal in the evening with the restaurant located in the centre of town and in the background is a lovely fountain. We would certainly recommend this place to people as it is so laid back. The meal is a BBQ steak which is not too bad, and together with a bottle of wine (god we miss our wine) costs about 25 dorrar. Anyway, we'll keep you posted as usual. Lots of Love Stu & Amy Ps. Monk dude is emailing his pals, must be ordering some more Tango.