We're having such an amazing time out here that I've not had much time to write this blog and then had difficulty getting Internet the last few days to upload it. We hope everyone at home is well.
We've made it down to Cambodia now but really loved Laos and wish we'd had more time there. Luang Prabang was a really pretty and relaxing place with a great mix of French and Laos architecture. We went to the top of a hill in the centre which had beautiful views from all sides, a temple at the top and gold Buddha statues on the way down. Later that evening we tried "Laos Laos", their local whiskey. It was a complimentary shot that came before our dinner and just the smell made me feel nauseous! Adam drank his but hated it, I took the smallest sip possible but then couldn't drink the rest so Adam tipped it in the flower bed in case it was rude not to drink it!
In Luang Prabang we got up extra early one day to see the monks. Each day at about 5:30-6:00am the monks leave their temples and walk down the main street collecting offerings from the people of the town (often sticky rice, money and fruit). It was great to see this happening but unfortunately it's been ruined by tourists getting up close to the monks taking photos or tourists giving offerings but for the wrong reasons.
One of our favourite trips so far was our outing to Kuangsi Waterfall. We took a tuk tuk for almost an hour to get there but it was well worth it as it was stunning. There were various pools between the falls and they were a gorgeous opal blue colour, which just didn't look real. We walked to the very top of the falls and then went for a well earned swim in one of the pools to recover and cool off after our walk up and down the steep paths. We also saw bears by the waterfall in an enclosure. They had been rescued from poachers so were there being looked after rather than cruelly kept. One in particular looked very happy in his big bear hammock!
The night market in Luang Prabang was a brilliant experience too. It went on and on and on as we walked through it with so many stalls selling paintings, clothes, fabrics, ornaments, wood carvings and more. I bought a bag as the zips on my handbag broke, a notebook with handmade paper and painting of monks in their distinctive orange robes on the front and a handmade lampshade. Adam bought some paintings of monks and a Beerlao t-shirt. We managed to haggle quite successfully and got some real bargains!
We were sad to leave Luang Prabang as everyone was so friendly there and it was a really pretty town but we headed from there to Vang Vieng early in the morning to get there just after lunch. About an hour or so into the journey on the bus, guess what...we broke down again! It took two and a half hours for the drivers to take various parts out of the engine and put it back together. There were bits everywhere and they didn't seem to know what they were doing. They had plenty of spanners but nothing else so found part of a tree to use as a hammer and a lever and improvised where they could. Putting all the parts back together, they looked at some pieces but shrugged their shoulders and tossed them to the side not knowing where they had taken them out from-more than a little worrying! We did get in our way though and we made it to Vang Vieng in the evening. This meant we didn't have time to do any tubing like we had wanted to do on the river but maybe that was a good thing as we went to get some dinner and found people who had come back from tubing everywhere drunk and/or high with one guy throwing up on the gates of a temple.
We booked a kayaking trip for the next day though and that was good. We were in a group of 10 and got a tuk tuk with kayaks on the top about an hour and a half down river. We then had our briefing; wear life jackets and helmets at all times, don't lose the paddle and which way to go through the rapids. We set off on a smooth river with beautiful scenery, Adam and I in a kayak together. We were doing ok until we got to the biggest rapid on the route and then the water just took over and next thing I know I'm under water! Those who know me well, know I am petrified of going under water so this was not the best moment of our holiday for me! I tried to swim up but was stuck under the kayak and then bashed my foot and knee on a rock. I still had hold of my paddle to my relief after the warning about how much they cost but I was struggling to get out with the paddle so I ended up having to let go and then I managed to get out and surface. My paddle came drifting towards me after what felt like 5 minutes of panic but it was probably more like 30 seconds. Adam was quite a way from me and the kayak but the guides came and got him and me back into the kayak. We weren't the only ones to capsize so that was less embarrassing! We stopped for lunch where they cooked us BBQ chicken on a small fire and then paddled on for another hour or so to where our tuk tuk picked us up to go on to Vientiane. On the way we got a puncture and had to wait while they changed the tyre so we're starting to think there is a curse on us!
We spent the next day in Vientiane relaxing and recovering from some busy days and walked around the city a little more. We then got an overnight bus (with beds in this one, although it was a bed smaller than a single bed per two people!) down to Pakse in southern Laos before changing buses to Siphandon and getting a boat across to Don Det (an island within the area called Four Thousand Islands). We didn't break down once! We found a nice little wooden hut with a balcony and hammock right on the river for 25,000kip per night (£2 per night for both of us!). This island is really relaxing so we had a great couple of days. We spent one day cycling to and around the next island, Don Khon. There's a huge waterfall, not as beautiful as Kuangsi but much more vast, spreading out across a wide area of rocks. We also went to a couple of beaches by the river, saw water buffalo (we had eaten water buffalo stew in Luang Prabang!) and mended Adam's flip flop with hay at the side of the path a few times! We made it back to our island just in time (despite Adam complaining of a very sore bum from cycling!) to see a beautiful sunset.
We tried to leave the next day to spend an extra day at Siem Reap but the boat was full despite us having a ticket and the guy told us to get on the next one as there were many boats. Another one never came so we got it swapped for the next day and spent a lazy day eating good food, reading our books by the river and chatting and drinking with some other travellers (from France, Spain and Canada).
We made it onto the boat yesterday morning and then onto the coach in the mainland after buying our Cambodian visas. The coach had too many people on it so some ended up sitting on the floor in the aisle! The border crossing was a nightmare with the officials losing a passport for one guy for about an hour and a half. We were split onto different buses depending on where we were going in Cambodia but there were still too many in ours so people sat on small stools in the aisle...not great for a 12hour journey! Some locals got on later too, about three or four families so it really was packed by then!
The journey was fairly seamless after the border, although we were made to change buses to Siem Reap, but not everyone going the same way had to. We eventually checked into a guest house just before midnight and fell asleep straight away after a long day travelling. Off to see some sights today and will go to Angkor Wat for sunset before spending the whole day there tomorrow. We really are looking forward to that.
I've written far too much so will sign off now and try and find wifi at some point today to upload this.
Love to you all xx