Well, finally arrived in Pakse at around 5:45am this morning. The coach journey was fine really, 9 hours instead of 12 due to an erratic driver and better route! It goes without saying that I didn't sleep a wink but the coach -sorry, VIP bus- was amazing! There were TVs that actually WORKED, air conditioning, nice comfy blankets, seats that reclined so far you were practically horizontal, free meal (granted it wasn't vegan and smelled rancid, but still it was FRE...

Hey people, Sorry, I have been truly crap at keeping you all updated lately. Um, can't remember where I left off actually... Ah, yes our arrival in Vang Vieng. Well we intended to stay two nights but these things rarely go according to plan and we ended up staying four. Oops. In all fairness though, for 36 hours of this I was comatose, so it would have been tricky to pack and get on a coach in that state. On a completely unrelated topic *looks shifty*,...

We're in Vang Vieng! We survived! I can't pretend I'm not relieved...Although it is difficult to stay terrified for more than five minutes when you're entirely surrounded by jaw-droppingly beautiful scenery. The mountains the bus wound it's serpentine way around for 6 hours were stunning limestone karsts, covered in rich emerald with a piercing blue sky, fluffy white clouds, miles of lurid green paddy fields and a blazing sun. Gorgeous. All in all a good d...

Hey people, Just a quick message to let you all know it's our last night in Luang Prabang and we're getting the 8am bus to Vang Vieng tomorrow. We will hopefully arrive around 2pm. The reason I say hopefully, is that we have to travel route 13. And no, I'm not just being superstitious here, there have been repeated ambushes on this stretch of road by armed gangs and there were around 50 deaths in 2003 alone. It is however, the only plausible route so we're ...

Sabah Dii from Laos! After Chiang Khong we were up at 7:30am for our bus at 8am to the Laos Border. From there we caught a boat across the river to Laos where passport control etc were. Next was a bus further down the river to climb aboard (we had to cross a plank and everything) the slowboat taking us to Pak Beng. 7 l-o-n-g hours later we finally arrived, and were lead to Done Villa Sak Guesthouse (well, after I'd fallen over getting out the boat, BUT, I di...