Lovely Laos

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Getting to Laos from Cambodia was a breeze, we saved ourselves 3 days sitting on a bumpy coach by splashing out on a flight to Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is a lovely town on a peninsula between 2 rivers, it is another UNESCO World Hertiage town, but it seems a little too touristy and there isnt much heritage to be maintained there. We visited the buddhist mountain for a view over town and saw some of the monks and yound boys dressed in thier orange robes around town. We met a freindly english couple in a tuk tuk and went to visit a huge waterfall, where they also had a rescued bear reserve. Unfortunately it was raining all day and the falls and bathing pools were very fast flowing and flooded so we couldn't relax and spend the whole day there, as intended.

The highlight of our time in Luang Prabang was a day trip to ride elephants! First we went on an hours walk and sat with both of us in a seat on our elephants back and the guide steered it in line with the other elephants. After lunch we got to learn the Mahout commands and we given an elephant each, which we had to clamber up to sit on our elephants' neck, with our feet behind each ear. You direct the elephant by shouting Pai/Sai/Kauwa/YaYa (Go/Left/Right/Stop) and wriggling you feet behing its ears. Our incredible experience with these huge dinosaur-esk mammals just got better when we were lead to the river bank and clinged on for dear ife as they manouvered down a ridiculously steep mud slide into the Mekong river. Where they proceeded to soak us and duck under the water and try to shake us off! ... Jonny was much less adept at staying on his elephant than me!

The next town we visited was Phonesavan, a remote town in the mountains, which made our 6 hour bus ride rather twisty and bumpy but the scenery was stunning. Here we hired a moped to go visit the Plain of Jars sites. We wandered around the first and largest site and tried to guess at what they were used for and why they are there. There are about 250 huge stone jars littering the hillside, at this location, which have been carved out of rocks up to 2m high, but no archeological findings have been able to date or explain them.

On the next windy bus journey we made friends with another English couple and went out with them during our stay in Vang Vieng. What to say about this town? ... Just like home ... Same Same, But Different!! Tubing is synonomous with Vang Vieng and involves loating down the river in an inflatable tyre and stopping at each of the many bars lining the banks for free local whiskey shots, bracelets (we have a collection) and beer pong. We had a large group together by the end of teh afternoon and ended upfloating back to town in the dark, somehow making it intact!

Last stop in Laos was a day in Vientiane, the capital city which was rather dull and the national monument, a golden temple, was dirty and a disappointment.

We have now moved onto Thailand and are starting our Thai adventures in Chiang Mai, in the north.

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