Muang Luang Luang Prabang

The slowboat was on the agenda for today and the weather was definately a lot worse than previous days, saying that it was still warm enough for t shirt and shorts so not exactly cold! The boat was meant to leave at 9 but as this is Laos and everything is super chilled out it didn't leave till 9:40. We jumped ship again and although Rumit had his doubts at first it seemed to be the best boat to be on, especially once underway ...

... waterfalls (into a very safe pool beneath, Les, I did check)!!! With more drinking antics during the evenings and a very random game of bowling (bowling alley being the only place open after 12, and they sold beer) Luang Prabang turned out to be a very memorable place on the map. We thought we had seen our fair share of beautiful views in Northern Thailand, Laos gave us hunderds more. We look forward to the journey south through the mountains to Vang Vieng. <br>

<br> Louang<br>Phabang <br><br>Louang Phabang was my first real taste of Laos and it was a<br>pleasant one, the people were very friendly and seemed to be more<br>genuine and less cynical than there Thai neighbours, probably from a<br>lack of exposure to us sometimes morally corrupt farlangs.<br>The Market was particularly good ,with some masterpieces going for<br>pittance the American lad from the boat Brian Croomes I was sharing a<br>Hostel with picked up ...

... and claimed that he needed more money. At the end of the day, we needed to get home and he refused to drive for less than 170,000K, so eventually we caved in and agreed the price. Yet again, the experience is classic empirical proof that most tuk-tuk drivers are *****. Oh, and he also had a mole on his left cheek, out of which, you guessed it, multiple three to four inch hairs sprouted obscenely and flapped in the breeze. Doubly a ****.<br><br>After stopping briefly for ...

... find in Vang Vieng. <br><br>24th October - Kuang Si waterfalls<br><br>I got up at 6.30 hoping to see the monks. But my hotel owner told me I was too late, they were already gone. Hmmm, back to bed, another go tomorrow! :-)<br> I had some breakfast, used the internet to see if my lost blog entries had shown up yet (nope, that's why I'm rewriting now), and booked a trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls. That afternoon a minibus picked me up and a ...

... night for free and she would change our bus ticket for us. Well, there was nothing we could do, so accepted and didn't mind being stuck in such a beautiful place. <br>We went up to the temple at the top of Mount Phousi (more a large hill) at sunset. It is the best view of Luang Prabang and again Amy was attacked by another giant wasp. The only annoyance we have found in Laos are these giant wasps who seem to have developed a liking to Amy. Although we both spray ...

... messages. Je prends de vos nouvelles avec grand interet. Et tant mieux si mes recits peuvent vous faire plaisir. J&lt;ai du plaisir a vous les offrir - j&lt;ai l&lt;impression de ne pas voyager seule ! Je risque d&lt;etre moins volubile quand je voyagerai avec mon amoureux...plus que quelques dodos !<br> Nath xxx<br> (Bonne fete a Lucie et Alex - un peu en avance, je sais. mais, tandis que j&lt;y pense ! Bonne fete a Coco- encore une fois ! - Bon debut de premiere annee a Marilou Cuff !)

... a HUGE night market. It goes on forever with everything from souveniers, textiles, carvings, paintings, and foodstalls galore. Its got a nice ambience feel to it with all the lanterns lit and lots of locals as well as travelers walking around.<br><br>Luang Prabang is a great place to rent a bike and just explore. There are tons of waterfalls and caves around the outskirts of town as well as numerous temples and museums.

... And its a world heritage site so its pretty just a bit dull at times. But top tip get into the bowling. The bars close at 11 but the bowling alley at 3. So get your Valiums and head off for some late night smashed up ball action.<br><br>p.s.<br><br>If you go make sure you catch the sunset at the high up temple just off the market. Its just as much fun up there to watch the planes come in as it is the ...

... in rural Laos) and/or consecrated ground, so we regretfully decided to pack up and leave. The boy seemed pleased with our decision and indicated for us to follow him. This we did for some fifteen minutes along trails through jungly undergrowth that eventually ejected us onto the steep path leading down to the base of the waterfall. We followed him downwards, ever curious as to where he was leading us. He urged us on with small gestures and impatiently tapped his foot as he waited ...