Hi

Arrived in Luang Prabang on Friday 7th October early morning after that horror bus journey. Therefore we found a guest house as quickly as possible to get some much needed rest. Thankfully the first we went into had 2 available rooms (1 for Andy and Kaylee too) and they were great. In the afternoon we just took a stroll around Luang Prabang. It didn't take long to see what a beautiful place this was, flanked by 2 rivers it really has some amazing views. Some of the places to eat and drink are equally amazing, making taking advantage of the river side location. We also visited the night market, which was a far more pleasant experience than others we had been to as you are not badgered to buy items anywhere near as much compared to the likes of Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It is very strange withdrawing money here as the maximum you can take out in 1,000,000 kip, which equals roughly 90 pounds.

Saturday - we all hired push bikes to get a better look around the whole place, crossing the old bridge, which is now only open to motor bikes, bicycles and padestrians. Bit of a hair raising experience for padestrians as all use the same path/road way. After we went out in search for a bar with a tv to watch the rugby on and visit Luang Prabang's only public swimming pool. Although there was a map on the back of the flyer we had, it was not the easiest to find. We were directed down one of the muddiest and wet streets in Luang Prabang, thought we were being made fools of but sure enough it was down there. No need to write about how the rugby went, especially seeing as it was a French bar. In the evening we went to a restaurant where Zo and I had our first experience of fondue, Laos style. Not sure it was for me really, didn't really get to grips with cooking your meal on the dinner table. The food was gorgeous though, much down to Zo. The restaurant was stunning, with private eating areas, each with knee high tables, surrounded by pillows and cusions. The photos will give you a better idea when I get round to putting them on here, where you'll also see how we had to get to the restaurant by canoe.

On our final day here, Sunday, we took a 60 minute tuk tuk ride to the Kuang Si Waterfall. The distance of the journey was about the same as Lydney to Gloucester but unsurprisingly the views on the way there were far different. The waterfall is the biggest I've seen to date (see picture for this blog) and we were some of the few people who decided to walk all the way to the top, quite a hike in flip flops. There was also a swimming area there too where we could swing into it on a rope. In the evening we took a boat trip around the Meakong River for the sunset.