Vang Vieng turned from four nights to six but we did eventually drag ourselves away. Next it was onto Luang Prabang but that meant another Laos bus trip so another 8 hours of windy dirt roads and excessive horn use (plus the added fun of a mudslide on this one). All this was absolutely fine though and this was our last bus journey of the trip so we were happy when we got there. Luang Prabang proved to be a really interesting, as well as fun few days. Our first day was spent enjoying the sun by the pool of a hotel we found and then exploring a few different Wats as well as walking pretty much the whole of Luang Prabang. For a place where we walked one end to the other in about 45 minutes to have 6 Wats on one road and a total monk population of 1000 was quite a sight to see. Each morning every monk in the town rises at sunrise to receive their food for the day as they have no income. It is the kindness of the locals that provides their food for the day and so we got up at 5:30 to witness the monks walking in single file, silently down the street whilst the locals gave each one some food. It was quite amazing to see what looked like a giant orange snake wind its way through the town as well as the sheer number of locals who give out their own food. Later that day (after heading back to sleep for a few hours!!) we headed out to a waterfall about 30 km away. The sun came out and so we had a great day swimming and climbing up the waterfall and there was also a bear rescue centre which was fun to see. As has been the case of pretty much everywhere we have been there was a good night market to keep us entertained each evening.

We should probably admit that we did take the easy option to get from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai. Instead of 3 days of a mixture of boats and buses we got a one hour flight!! We thought it was probably justifiable but not very traveller of us. It turned out to be a really good decision as we have loved each of our six days in Chiang Mai. Thailand seems so civilised after Laos! Tarmac roads and almost obeying driving rules have never seemed as exciting before. We started off our 6 days with a 2 day cooking course run in a house outside the city centre. We make no promises that our cooking will be good when we return but it did taste amazing whilst we were there! Highlights were definitely spring rolls and fish cakes (well technically chicken cakes because there was no fish so we had to improvise) as well as Pad Thai and some great curries. We also learned a bit of vegetable carving without as much success as the cooking. 6 courses a day was a bit of a challenge to eat but we managed. We also spent a day travelling north towards the Golden Triangle of Thailand, Burma and Laos. This included stopping off at 'The White Temple' in Chiang Rai which was stunning. It is the only temple in Thailand which is entirely white and it is also covered in thousands of tiny mirrors which glimmer in the sun. The day also included seeing a hot spring, a market on the Burmese border and a hill tribe. The following day was one of the best that we have had as we visited Tiger Kingdom which is Tiger sanctuary where we played with the 2 month old tigers. You could also go in the cage with the fully grown ones but we decided not to! There was also one lonely lion and some adorable new born tigers so plenty to see. We had great weather for the last few days so we found a swimming pool and have been enjoying delicious Thai food and the sunshine! Every night there is the night bazaar which is the best market we have seen with lots of local craft as well as plenty of fakes from football shirts to handbags. There was also a special Sunday market which runs along the moat that surrounds the Old City. It is the night bazaar plus the most incredible spread of Thai food, so this was a great way to spend our last night in Chiang Mai.

We flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok last night and we now have just 2 days left. Looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

Lots of love xxx