Tuesday 30th December 2008

In Louang Phabang in Laos; enjoying the colonial ambience of the city and just about recovered from the marathon bus journey to get here. 11 hours, over fabulous, scenic mountain roads on a bus with a defective silencer at the very least. I'm sure it finished the journey with less bits than it started; and this was a 'king of buses'. Hate to think what it would have been like on the public bus. Justine, you'll like this; on the bus was an elderly Buddhist monk, with all his possessions contained in a Tesco bag! Your money doesn't buy you much in Louang Phabang. A $25 dollar room is more like a cupboard than the roomy facilities we had in Vietnam. Still, we are the only wildlife in the bed and there is a hot shower. We have upped our Buddha count a bit; including a visit to a fantastic Wat (temple), the oldest in Laos with lurid murals showing sinners being boiled in oil and the like. There is an interesting night market, with wonderfully coloured textiles and, as the sun set, we succombed to the colonial atmosphere and sank into our comfy chairs with a cocktail. We went on a boat trip on the Mekong this morning, with wonderful views on a bright sunny day. The end trip was to visit some caves with ex-buddhas in them (ie no longer wanted!) which rather underwhelmed us. We have had an interesting time planning the rest of our stay in Laos. Accommodation in LP is scarcer than in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve over New Year; so we are taking a tour to the North East of the country to visit the Plain of Jars (a load of old pots but Paul says they are a must-see!), which was another thing the Americans tried very hard to obliterate, and return here on the night of the 2nd. We've wimped out of another bus trip and will now fly to Thailand on the 4th Jan.