Dear All,

I rather suspect that you all owe thanks to this rather unbearable internet connection, which just lost several paragraphs of uncontrollable Trishgush regarding my first hours in Laos.

Yes, I'm here. Wow... but before I begin, I really do feel that Trisha Robert's superb effort in powerwalking a ridiculous distance through London partially clad in the middle of the night deserves a mention. The magnitude of this achievement has been brought home to me by two things - firstly, I walked about 8 miles today and my legs are seizing up, and secondly - having recently evacuated a Muslim country, I'm really aware that showing that much flesh is no joke. I wonder if we could work it into a nursery rhyme to do with a hijab. Congratulations on a fine achievement - Mum forwarded the e-mail you sent them to me, which I recieved with great interest!

I'm in the 'bustling' capital city of Laos. 'City' is pure hyperbole, 'Town' a bit of an overstatement, and 'bustling' simply irony. It's a fabulous place. Lonely Planet might be right - there's not a lot doing here, but having tumbled out of the A320 at 1030 this morning (I'm getting closer... only six hours ahead of you Greenwich Meridian Homies now) and pottered accross the tarmac into the 'International' Airport I found myself in a serenely calm room... very welcome after the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. This served for visas and arrivals, with a (stationary) turnstyle in the next room. Then a door - to outside. Wow. There weren't any tuk tuks. Nobody tried to rip us (my numbers having swelled following the flight) off (is that splitting a verb or an infinitive? is it wrong...?) and we clambered into a taxi nicer than any I saw in Peninsular Malaysia.

It dropped us at our guesthouse. They had a room. It was immaculately clean, the beds were made, they provided towels, there was no insect infestation, there were tiles on the floor. This makes it a million times better than any Malaysian hostel I have stayed in. It's costing less than two pounds fifty a night, and we have a balcony that I can stand on and look out over the Mekon and onto the paddies behind. If my cup was overfloweth-ing at this point, I cannot begin to describe the powerful upwelling of emotion that positively deluged me with happiness when... put all the fluid imagery together folks, and... when....

....I turned the shower on, and it was hot. Yes, that's right. Hot. And I could adjust the temperature. This is the first hot shower I have had in nearly six weeks. It was beyond welcome; I could have set up home in there.

Bathed and fresh, we headed out into Vientiane to take in the sights and check out where the bus station is, as Dan and I are both headed to Vang Vien tomorrow morning. It's much cooler here than Malaysia and Singapore, as it is the start of the rainy season. Temperatures are around 24, not above 30, and the humidity is no where near as suffocating. Whilst not going mad and stepping out in a playboy bunny outfit, I also appreciation walking out with short sleeves on and being smiled at by people. Maybe it's the Buddhism, but they certainly seem a lot more chilled out than the Malays.

Given the apparent comparative states of economic development, therefore, I'm mildly surprised to find immaculate pavements, no open sewers, no constant smell of rotting meat, urine and sewerage. I know that this will change once I get out of the capital, but in comparison to Kuala Lumpur, this place is just knock out. The buildings are awesome, too. The French influence is still strongly noticeable, in the buildings, the baguette sellers on corners, the French road names, and the general vibe of the long, tree lined avenue that makes up the main street to the Presidential Palace.

Ben and I grabbed some lunch - a stall selling big bowls of beef noodle soup with jars of chilli and bottles of soy sauce at around 50p each (fanatasticcc) - and headed out to Pha That Luang (in your Lonely Planet Mum and Dad!), the most important national monument in Laos. I walked round with a fixed grin on my face. Smiling does confuse people, but the whole atmosphere of the beautiful buildings, the laid back environment, just... wow. I really am expressing myself appaulingly, but I think the experience was heightened by the circuoutous walk we took to reach the 45m stupa, past mechanics, hair salons, street stalls... very quiet, slow paced, relaxed - and this is in the capital! We walked lazy loops round the 'town' - Pha That Luang lies 4km out of the centre - passing a myriad of brightly coloured Wats - (You 'wat', Dad, I know), the National Assembly, Embassies, the UN, World Vision, Buddist monks in psychodelic tuk-tuks, the National Museam, the superbly (ridiculously) gaudy Cultural Hall, That Dam - a big urm, statue type thing... I had a whistle blown loudly at me when I tried to take a photo. I was slightly shocked... the whistle was actually blown by a guard at the American Embassy. He was worried the US Embassy was in the shot. It was ok if I took it from round the corner...

I bought a pair of pewter-looking elephant earrings. They're a bit funky, and I think they're cool. However - I asked how much they were, and being told 10,000kip, I agreed. Having come from Malaysia, it did not occur to me that around 60p was an extortionate amount to pay for earrings. To the girl on the stall - I'm really sorry, I tried my hardest to barter after to pointed down enough, but was it really necessary to laugh at me when my skills oinly hammered you down to 50p...?

Off to Vang Vien tomorrow. Will update soon, no doubt. Totally blown away and expressing myself badly - will sharpen up the old observation skills and blast you with a blow away blog before you know what bludgeoned you. Now headed to a bar by the Mekong (BeerLao - The Drink of a Wholehearted People - 50p a bottle) to watch sunset....

Wish you were here. All of you.

Love to All.

Pxx