I took the day out today to really prepare myself more for Hong Kong and Japan, sort my money out, catch up on my blog, do my laundry and eat well. I found a very cheap, local street vendor where I could sit down to a meal near my hostel. In the evening I went to the same German restaurant I went to before, I ordered the same spaghetti Bolognese, a chang beer and listened to an American guy in his 50s sitting on another table talk very loudly to another guy about his sex life with his Japanese wife. He lived in the suburbs of Tokyo and was comparing Thailand to Japan. I not only listened to this thrilling conversation but I also listened to some great music in the restaurant (one song was que ... read more

I said bye to Daniel and Martin this morning. They left at 7am to get a bus to Vang Vieng. Afterwards they are travelling down to Ko Chang (the island I wanted to visit but Susan felt it was a bit isolated.) Afterwards they are flying back to Austria at the end of this month. I'm so excited to hear about their journeys, I really can't wait to hear about Ko Chang. As chang means elephant the only thing I can imagine about this island is that there are hundreds of elephants. This is one of the great things about travelling - everybody has another adventure planned and you log into each others blogs and share experiences. If you don't have the energy to go to a place, another traveller will go and will inform you ... read more

Daniel met me at my hostel this morning and we bargained with a yuk tuk to take us to the UXO Visitor Centre (UXO= unexploded ordinance.) It was really informative and explained the impact of UXO on the Laos people and what the country is doing to improve the situation. It told us about the facts. 300 people die a year of UXO bombs which were dropped in three wars. Laos was hit badly in the French Indochina war, then in the second Indochina war involving Vietnam and also in WW2 during the invasion of the Japanese. They were mostly dropped in this province and on the Hochi Mimin trail. It talked about the different types of UXO and it displayed the devices. The most problematic are bombies which were dropped in a catacomb. At least ... read more

The cruise left me with a sense of bliss and tranquillity, I’ve found my hostel and I’m very happy with it. It’s a good start to my trip in Luang Prabang. It’s my first day here and I’ve found its pleasant and a very easy place to walk or cycle around. It’s a refreshing place and it has a French or swiss village feel to it with mountains surrounding it. It’s cool weather which is what you need in Asia when you are travelling. Asia’s not like Europe where you can see two museums on one day, get an in depth view od thousand of years of history by just following the museum explanations written in perfect English. Here there are more temples, and things to see rather than history to explore. Oh and the time ... read more

Our first stop today was in a small village and it was today that we learned a lot about the indigenous tribes and people of Laos. According to the tour guide on the boat there are different indigenous groups and two different religions - spirit worshippers and Buddhists (similar to Buddhism in Thailand, they worship daily at shrines in their own houses and temples, in Laos too.) Spirit worshippers on the other hand make offerings every ten days (such as pigs) and sacrifices to the spirit Gods. If they get ill they believe it is because they have angered a spirit and therefore make sacrifices to make up for their crime. Illness is caused by evil spirits. They marry at the age of 15 or 16 and usually don't get an education as they live in ... read more