I set off from Luang Prabang on a minivan with the Danish girls for the 6 hour journey down to the party capital of Laos, Vang Vieng. Everyone on the minivan was soon introduced and I got some gambling going by getting everyone to chuck in some cash for a pot to guess the correct arrival time. The journey was a slow one as we wound through the dramatic mountain roads of Northern and Central Laos. Steep drops off to the side down the hill sides kept me awake, as did the seemingly endless number of overtakes performed by our driver on blind corners with nothing between us and a long drop off the side. I can only think that the driver was trying to get us in the right frame of mind to arrive in ... read more

After the several cocktails the night before, a relaxing day was definitely in order and was pleasantly surprised to discover I had slept till nearly 10. Another excellent muesli and fruit breakfast was followed up by doing what most backpackers to SE Asia do....catch up on what was happening at the Cheltenham Festival! I sat in the guesthouse garden and watched all the main races from the first two days, though I may have got a little carried away and received some funny looks from the Latvian girls when I started cheering Sprinter Sacre up the hill.....god know what will happen if Kauto is in with a chance when I finally manage to see the Gold Cup! After spending a few hours chilling out and sending some emails, I decided that I should go for my ... read more

So it was finally here, March 10th! Didn't exactly get off to the best start, what with waking up in the wrong house, waking the Burton's neighbours up with the alarm and having a cracking hangover! Made it home though, collected the bags and got a lift into Leeds with James. Soon made it over to Victoria for a few beers with the uni gang, great to see everyone before I left, especially with all the kids in tow. A few drinks saw the hangover off and I felt much better as I headed to the tube. First transport issue came before I even left the country as had to go to Paddington to get the Heathrow Express as the Picadilly line was down. Still on time though and got checked in, even turned down a ... read more