13-17/01/20

Arriving four hours later we are quite excited as we've treated ourselves to an up-market hotel located on the river-front renowned for stunning views. Setting our rucksacks down at the outdoor reception area we look up to take in the view and are horrified to see diggers, piles of sand and stone and workmen operating noisy machinery just a few meters from the hotel boundary. After seeing a workman take a pee in front of us a few hours later we decide to speak to the manager to come to some sort of arrangement. The hotel is lovely and we don't relish the thought of re-packing and unpacking if we leave. We are offered either a slight discount or the choice of cancelling the next three nights. Opting for the latter (it's so noisy and the work starts at 7am!!!) Later that evening we find a lovely traditional style guest house on the other side of town. It doesn't have a riverview but is twice the size of our original room and has an enormous balcony. As it's a last minute booking we (David the Negotiator) secures a 25% discount!. Feeling elated we head off into town for dinner. Back at the hotel later that evening we are feeling great as we've managed to make the best of a bad situation. Reaching into my bag I realise David's wallet is missing!!!!! It has all our credit cards in it too. Panicking we retrace in our minds our movements that evening and come to the conclusion it can only be in one of two places, the restaurant or the hotel we've just booked. While David rushes back into town to check both venues I start looking into how to cancel the cards. We have a few hundred pounds in Laos kip but that won't go very far. Hoping that David finds the cards I try to stop myself thinking of our worst case scenario; having to go home.

Half an hour later David returns with the wallet and his reading glasses; I'd left them at Sayo Naga guesthouse when we booked earlier that evening. They were on the reception desk exactly where I'd placed them when I must have taken them out to reach for the money to pay. We can't believe how lucky we've been; they had been sitting on reception for at least three hours and no one had taken them. What lovely honest people or blind as bats!

What a day, we are shattered. Setting the alarm for the ungodly hour of 5am so we can witness Tak Bat which is a long standing tradition in Laos Buddist culture, and sacred for locals and monks. The monks who depend on theses offerings (often homemade sticky rice) for their daily sustenance quietly line up in vivid saffron robes and locals offer them food. This ritual should be conducted in silence but has now become a "must see" attraction for tourists. While it has always been possible to observe the ceremony, more recently it has become common to take active participation. There are even horror stories about tourists who disrupt and disrespect the tradition hoping to get their dream money shot. Deciding whether to partake or just witness in Tak Bat, we weigh up the pros and cons and decide that, as we are not buddist it would feel fake for us to participate. Feeling this is the appropriate approach we feel rather smug and in balance with Laos Buddhism unlike all of those unsensitive, selfish souls participating. Anyway we did it five years ago!

Booooom, boooooom, booooooom!!! we are woken by the sound of monks hitting their drums at the temple next door which signals the start of Tak Bac. It's 5am; no need for our alarm then? Heading out into town we find a quiet street to witness the monks collecting alms but stand and watch from a respectable distance.

Later that morning having lugged our rucksacks to our new abode we spend five minutes searching for the security box. We look everywhere, even under the beds. Giving up I go down to reception to check if there is one? The chap on reception assures me their is one and follows me upstairs to our room with a padlock in hand and points to the 3ft long chest at the front of the room saying " this security box".

The city is famous for its beautiful temples and shrines so we spend the rest of the day visiting the noteworthy and avoiding the blistering heat.

We visit the Kung-si Waterfalls and the Moon Bear Sanctuary the next day; a 60km round trip. The waterfalls are stunning and we have a refreshing dip; we can't believe how turquoise the waters are. The bears at the sanctuary are lovely but their history is a sad one. Rescued from poachers who catch them for the Chinese and Vietnamese markets who milk their bile for herbal medicine; thank goodness they are now happy and safe. The sanctuary relies entirely on donations and visitors can buy a "save the moon bear t shirt with the proceeds going towards their rescue and upkeep. We do a lot of work for charity without liking to talk about it [Fast Show reference] so I won't mention the fact that we helped out by making a purchase.

Today is our last in Luang Prabang. Deciding to visit the Unexploded Ordnance Museum we head off to learn more about the bombing of Laos during French Colonial but mainly the Vietnam War and its tragic legacy which still continues to this day. We are enlightened and horrified to find out that Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita. During the war the Vietnamese used the cover of Laos to transport troops and arms to Southern Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Vietnamse denied doing so and the Americans denied attempting to stop them by bombing the trail. What resulted was hidden from the world for a number of years, but a higher tonnage of bombs were dropped on Laos than were used in the entire Second World War. Many of these bombs were cluster bombs and did not explode, only 1% of those have been defused. This has resulted in many deaths and physical and economic hardship in the most rural and poverty stricken regions. Schoolboys digging for worms when fishing or farmers planting rice are at risk and we saw the horrific results of this random bombing by the US.

That evening after speaking to a very friendly French chap called Colin we head off to chat to Laos children/teenagers that want to speak and improve their English. Colin works voluntarily for an organisation called Big Brother Mouse. They also deliver Laos and English books to remote villages to help with their education and get them into reading for pleasure. Laos has only recently published children's books for pleasure rather than learning so this is new and exciting for the children. David chats to a monk called Lenin who is reading a Sherlock Holmes book! David helps explain certain words and corrects his pronunciation. Lenin has been a monk for the past eight years but wants to be either a doctor, teacher or footballer in future? I chat to Nicco, an eighteen year old student who speaks remarkable English. He is applying for a scholarship to study in Canada and would love to become a doctor to help remote villages in Laos who have limited access to medication. I help correct his written work explaining how the English language works. David and I get so carried away we miss our 6pm dinks rendezvous at The Villa Santi a swanky hotel in town. It's both heart-breaking and inspiring to see how motivated these students are. They have so little but aim so high.

We're off to Siphandon, (4000 Islands as their generally called) the day after tomorrow but shall have to fly and stay overnight in Paske, the provincial capital of the south almost a thousand miles from Luang Prabang. From there we shall bus and boat the 144km to one of the 4000 islands (I'm sure there's a lot less) dotted in the Mekong River, Don Khon. Don Khon offers a laidback riverside vibe where cycling along paddy fields, swimming in the Mekong River are the order of the day. Just what we need after so much travel. We can't wait.