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Hi guys! All is good with me, and I'm now enjoying being a full on solo traveler. I arrived in Luang Prabang very early the first morning and after a few hours kip, went off to the kuang xai waterfalls with a big group, which was just INCREDIBLE. The water was completely clear, you could swim and rope swing in, and the falls themselves were great. By the next morning I felt I wanted to really see the city and understand why its a unesco site. A couple of us hired bikes, cycled all round. It really is a lovely place - there's no buildings taller than 2 or 3 storeys, no buses or public transport - its really like a large town. There is some awesome architecture, but you can already see its being a little tainted by the 'stylish' but slightly tacky guesthouses and resorts that are popping up!
Laos is proving to be a weirdly expensive place... the beer is so cheap, but they really do try to charge you for everything. It a bit of a paradox, because the people don't hustle you at all, it feels a little bit like 'you can buy this or not buy this, I don't care, but you won't find it anywhere cheaper!'
So the next day, 4 of us did a elephant ride and kayak down the the Nam Ou and Mekong rivers, which was the most amazing experience. I'm not sure how i feel about the elephant riding - it all feels quite exploitative - but the kayak was so beautiful, and we had a great guide. We had several hours on the rivers, including a few rapids, great views, some huge spiders on the cliff faces and a stoppover in the 'Ten Thousand Buddha Caves' at Pak Ou.
This mornng i got up nice and early and hopped on a bus to Vang Vieng. Tubing tomorrow, maybe some biking and caves the day after, a quick stop in Vientiane, then off to Bangkok for the flight!
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