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Sabaidee!
(That's 'hello' in Laotian)
We're now in Vientiane, which is the capital city of Laos. We've been in Laos for just over a week now, after crossing the border from North Thailand. We travelled from the border crossing to Luang Prabang on a 2-day slow boat down the Mekong River. That trip sounds a lot more glamorous than it is. In reality we spent the 6 hour trip on the first day sat on a seat no more comfortable than a wooden church pew. We had luckily invested in cushions after advice from friends in South America, however we still had numb bottoms within a few hours. We'd learnt our lesson by the second day and made sure we were on the boat over an hour early to make sure we bagged ourselves the 'comfy' seats, these were actually just old car seats, but seemed like luxury compared to the previous day. The 8 hours on the second day passed far more quickly and easily.
We eventually arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos' second larges city and apparently the most Laos city in Laos. We had a very enjoyable and relaxing 4 days exploring the city. There wasn't a massive amount to do but as usual we ate lots of fantastic food and enjoyed sampling the local beers. There was also a huge night market where we began stocking up on things to take home. Laos is very much like Thailand, but the pace is much slower and we've found the people to be even friendlier. There is also a big French influence as a former Francophone colony. We're also very happy that the Lao language is no where near as squeaky and whiney as Thai!!
We travelled from Luang Prabang and travelled South to Vang Vieng, which is the Lao party capital and a bit like the Tenerife of the country. There are lots of neon Western style bars and restaurants all of which play 'Friends' or 'Family Guy.' The main attraction here is something called 'tubing'. This consists of hiring a big rubber ring and floating down a river, whilst stopping at bars on the way. Basically, a pub crawl on water. A group of 15 of us who had met over a few days all went on a tubing trip. We were a complete mix of nationalities, ages and backgrounds, and had the best laugh that we've had in ages together.
We hope all is well where you are. We heard that the snow is back again and hope that it hasn't caused too much chaos for you. The website where we normally post the pictures is having problems at the moment so we've posted them on Facebook again. Look on either Clare or Nick's pages or click on the links below if you're not on Facebook.
Chiang Mai trekking
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=380475&id=746595533&l=9cf3d3fda
Louang Prabang
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=381259&id=746595533&l=b2e4aeb391
We'll write again soon from South Laos.
Sending you lots of love and sunshine,
Clare & Nickyxxx
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