When we arrived in Luang Prabang there was a tuk-tuk waiting to take people (only Western people we noticed, so locals must pay cheaper fares) to their guesthouses for 15,000kip each (just over £1). Too tired to haggle or shop around, we got in a soon arrived at the guesthouse we'd booked - Merry 2. We never know whether we'll be able to check-in that early (it was about 7am!), but always hope for the best. Luckily, they were just cleaning our room so we were shown in after about a 10 minute wait. We'd booked a double room but they didn't have any left, so we ended up with a triple room and an extra single bed next to the huge double bed. The young guy who showed us in talked us through the whole room including the curtains! Yes, they're very nice! After we managed to get him to leave, we went straight to bed and caught up on some sleep, waking up around midday.

In the afternoon we went out to explore Luang Prabang a little bit and stopped for some lunch at a restaurant. There's lots to do and see here but we were both still tired and suffering with the heat a bit (Laos is HOT!) so decided to make the most of the cheap massages on offer in many salons in town. It didn't take us long to find somewhere….we were just perusing the massage 'menu' when an English girl waiting outside said she'd just had the foot and shoulder massage and it was amazing. Her friend then came out of the building and said how relaxed she now felt - sold! At £3 each they were a bargain too and we both came out feeling very relaxed and refreshed.

On the walk back to the guesthouse we found a bar overlooking the river so stopped for a Beerlao and watched the local children (and some travellers) playing in the water below us. Not a bad start to our stay in Luang Prabang!

That night we visited the 2 night markets that are held daily - the handicraft/souvenir market, described in the LP as the most laid-back market in Asia, and the food market. At the food market we had a buffet of vegetarian dishes for the bargain price of 10,000kip each, less than £1. There are some random sites at this market including deep fried chicken heads! Then we walked around the handicraft market, picked up some bargains, and realised just how laid-back it was - stall-holders breast feeding their babies while letting you browse the stalls, no shouting at you like you normally get at markets. There were lots of little children sleeping at the back of the stalls, which are all on the ground rather than on tables, and looking very cute as we walked past.

Happy with our purchases, we visited a bar called Lao Lao Garden that we'd read about in the LP which is in a traditional Laos garden setting and sold BOGOF cocktails - more bargains for us! We weren't that impressed with the cocktails because none of the good ones were included in the offer, but enjoyed the ambience of the bar!

Back to the guesthouse before the 11:30pm curfew (if you get back any later you're sleeping on the street!) and an early night for us. Planning on getting up early to avoid the heat tomorrow.