Firstly a few short words on Bangkok. Bloody great city - a true big city and another massive culture shock coming from Laos. I've stayed at Khao San road - the backpackers mecca of Asia. I like nothing better than getting some Pad Thai, a beer from the 7/11 and sitting on the kerb and watch the circus: vendors, beer girls, ladyboys, tuk tuk drivers, goths, expats with their 'holiday' girlfriends (way too young, way to gorgeous and way outta their league), goths,...

Someones not gonna like this... My last night in Cambodia I realised when confronted with a beggar I had gone from whispering a guilt ridden 'No, I'm sorry', to a harsh and firm 'NO' without even looking the unfortunate person in the eye and I wondered, how have I become this cold hearted b******. Generally the beggars I've encountered come in three forms: 1. The landmine victims. The most obvious and prevalent of the group. You see these guys and thi...

OK I did it before, I'll do it again. The greatest hits of Laos. Best meal: Buffalo Laap by the Mekong River in Luang Prabang as the sun set - so romantic! Best beer: Beer Lao. No contest, literally - it was all I drank! Biggest annoyance: Buses leaving before 6AM, but no eateries open before 7AM. Runner Up: Guesthouses continually trying to up the room rate when you check out. Weirdest: Getting off the overnight bus in Vientiane at 6AM and ...

I'm humbled to say I fell victim to judging a place before I got there. Due to comments from Lonely Planet and other travellers I was fully prepared to hate Vang Vieng and only spend 1 days there - I'd even started to form my blog post on it. 4 days later and I'm happily eating my words. Bit of background. Not too long ago I believe Vang Vieng was just another bamboo village you would pass by on the dirt road from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. Once Luang Praba...

I`ve now been in Laos for about 5 days and it`s been a revelation/ I know I only changed borders but I might as well be on another planet for the experiences I`ve had so far.I spent 4 nights at Si Phan Don (4000 islands) a region of the Mekong River where theres a sharp drop in elevation, the river widens out and there`s a maze of all these small islands, sandbars and clumbs of vegetation.The words laid back and relaxed are not strong enough adjectives to descric...