Luang Prabang, Laos: 26th Nov 09

We spent today wandering around Luang Prabang’s most famous temples – all very nice, with lots of golden buddhas.

In the evening we hit the bars - there are some amazing places here, with terraces on the riverbanks and hill-sides, it feels very European and quite sophisticated. In one of the bars we encountered a fashion show of traditional ethnic clothes. Odd, but compelling!

Luang Prabang, Laos: 25th Nov 09

Today we looked around the Royal Palace. Laos used to consist of three Kingdoms, of which Luang Prabang was one. The Royal Family of Luang Prabang eventually became the Royal Family of a unified Laos in 1945. In 1975 the senior members of the Royal Family were sent to a ‘re-education camp’ in the caves in the North. In 1978 it was announced that they had all died of natural causes. Hmmm, I think there’s something fishy afoot! It’s rumored that the King lived until 1984 in secret.

The palace is cute – built in 1904 by the French for the King, it’s quite small but very pretty. The throne room is dazzling – bright red walls with loads of silver and gold –unfortunately photos are not allowed.

After the palace we had coffee on the riverside and then walked up Phu Si, the hill in the middle of town, with several temples on top. It’s the place to be to watch the sunset. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea and it was rammed full of tourists at the peak, so we walked down via the other temples and pretty much had the place to ourselves - except the odd lone monk.

Luang Prabang, Laos: 23-24th Nov 04

Yesterday morning we had breakfast on the riverside in Vang Vien, then caught the bus to Luang Prabang. For most of the journey we could see amazing views of the hills and valleys, and we enjoyed it. But then it got dark and the journey went on for 3 hours longer than expected which was very annoying!

We arrived in Luang Prabang and checked into our bungalow, where we’ll be staying for the next 5 nights.

This morning we had a look around town. Luang Prabang is Laos’ premier tourist attraction – A small city on a peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, surrounded by hills. Most of the buildings are from the French Colonial period and there are dozens of temples. In 1994 the whole old town was made a UNESCO world heritage site. It really is a stunning place.

Vang Vieng, Laos: 21st – 22nd Nov 09

Yesterday we took the bus for 3 hours to Vang Vieng. This town is famous as being a backpacker party town and is really quite minging. The center is full of tacky bars selling buckets (yes buckets, the type that are normally sold with spades at the seaside) full of cheap booze and flogging rubbish food. Lots of the people here are 20 something student travellers, they like to drink until they puke and say ‘hurrah’ a lot. We dubbed it Lao-biza.

Aside from drunken puking, Vang Vieng is also famous for its amazing natural setting – a river running alongside a limestone mountain range and beautiful streams and palm trees everywhere. The top activity is ‘tubing’ down the river!

Today I met up with Jo Pratt, she’s a really good friend of mine - we worked together at Rapier 5 years ago. We realized we’d be in Laos at the same time from Facebook so decided to get together.

Matt was feeling a bit 'windy' and retired to the guest house for the afternoon, whilst Jo and I went tubing – it involved hiring huge tracker inner tubes, getting a tuk-tuk 3 km up river and spending 2 ½ hours floating back to town. We really enjoyed it!

After re-joining Matt and having a bottle of wine, admiring the amazing view from our balcony, we headed into town, drank from buckets and said ‘hoorah’ a lot! Bugger.

Vientiane, Laos: 19-20th Nov 09

We’ve spent the last couple of days in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. It’s a surprisingly small place and feels more like a town then a capital - we’re really close to the center but lots of the buildings are only a couple of storeys tall. There are lots of French-style colonial buildings and temples, and we’re on the banks of the Mekong River – altogether quite pleasant!

Yesterday we visited Pha That Luang, the most famous symbol of Laos. We arrived in the late afternoon and the sun was shining on the golden stupa – really beautiful, we both thought it was lovely. Lots of monks were visiting and they were having a right giggle as they walked round, which was nice to see!

Today we had planned to visit a couple more temples, but I’ve been feeling a bit ‘windy’, I’ll say no more. We had a nice chilled day and caught up with some reading.

Sa Pa, Vietnam: 17-18th November 09

We spent the last couple of days hanging out in Sa Pa. Yesterday morning the clouds lifted so we could see the mountains surrounding the town for the first time – a nice surprise. We’ve spent time in the cafes and mooching around town and were approached a couple of times by 8-year old May, who spends her time in-between school selling purses to tourists – she’s a right cheeky one, and made us think of Stasia and Soraya.

We’re now taking the night train back to Hanoi and then a plane to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. So after 3 ½ weeks we’re saying goodbye to Vietnam. It’s been ace - and we seem to have saved the best for last as both Halong Bay and Sa Pa have been our favourite places.

Sa Pa, Vietnam: 16th November 09

Today we hiked 14km up and down the mountain, visiting 4 villages on the way. We were about 2,000 metres high but the mist was thick, so we couldn't see any of the amazing views. Our guide pointed out the best view in Sa Pa but all we could see was whiteness. Oh well, there's something intrinsically good about walking on a mountain in the clouds.

Our guide, a 22 year old local villager called Khu (promounced 'coo') was good fun. She kept laughing at us as we slipped on the steeper and muddier sections of the mountain. We both slipped over 3 times each and were caked in mud.

In the evening we went to a local bar where Matt took over DJ duties and played loads of fab tunes!

Sa Pa, Vietnam: 15th November 09

This morning we walked through the market to Cat Cat village, which is 3km down the mountain from Sa Pa town.

The weather is still very misty. They call Sa Pa 'the city in the clouds' and we are well and truly in the clouds today! This does mean that we won't get to see the spectacular views, but there's plenty else to see, and everything looks soft focus in the mist.

Cat Cat village is small and rustic - below it the Fairy and Flower streams meet, and at the same point a waterfall cascades down the mountain. Sweet.

We spent the afternoon in the English pub having bangers and mash. Sunday lunch - yum!