Our initial experience of Phongsali was not a great - the tuk tuk drivers drops us off in a random place outside the city - literally within 30 seconds of stopping the tuk tuk, they hop on a motorbike and driving away before we can ask them anything. We resisted paying the additional tuk tuk that was conveniently waiting for us and walked the few kilometres into town with our big packs. After checking into a hotel, I ate one of the worst meals I have had since starting the trip… my opinion of Phongsali wasn't improving much. Luckily later that night, while on the hunt for something to sweeten the mood, me and Ilhem, ran into a Korean Family celebration of Chinese New Year (the second time around on the 28th Feb - I still don't understand this, but who cares - let's party!). The family were amazingly hospitable to a bunch of random falang; they invited us to join them in eating, drinking and singing karaoke with them. Reading Lao subtitles, we did our best to copy the wondrous tones that Laos can produce. After leaving the very drunken family party, we stumbled across another on the ground floor of our hotel, an even larger, more drunken and riotous party was going on. Again we were invited in and to dance, Lao style of course - it's a very sweat and reserved style of dance, mainly moving your hands in intricate gestures while doing a simple box step. It's very open and everyone should join in. Lao people really like to drink (almost as much as us Scots) and it's obligatory to down your drink with them, which is normally beer. I try to keep up!

Niki and I leave the others a day early to undertake a three day trek between Phongsali and Bouna, along with a small group -all couples- and very different from the people we have been travelling with. During the trek we pass through a few remote villages. Visiting a school at Chicho village and Boonphang village where Akha Pixor people offer us local hand crafts, we spend the night at the chief's house in Nam Boun Village which is a Phunoy village. We are fed, watered and treated to a welcoming Lao massage, but first have to enjoy the wonders of a few shots of the locally produced Lao Lao. The people in the village are rice farmers, working very early in the morning and through the night when it is cooler. The village is very isolated; electricity and a dirt road are new additions to the village, the later only being created within the last month of our visit. The villagers have allowed small groups of tourists to visit in order to bring in extra income over the last few years. It feels a bit strange, a bit human-zooish, as we have minimal interaction with the local people, I don't really like organised trips like this, but it is interesting to see how they are living. At one point our guide takes us to a nearby river to swim, no one in the group is keen but I don't want to miss the opportunity so jump in. The local kids are fascinated watching falang swim and run away from our cameras. Despite the fact that Buddhism is the predominant religion in Lao, many of the small villages practice animist belief systems, believing that taking a picture of someone steels a little of their soul. On the last day of the trek we decide to stay in the small town of Boun Neau on our way south which turns out to be a great decision. We meet a local lady who owns a stall with tooth ache, I offer her a pain killer and suddenly we are the best of friends. We meet her children; help them with their English and they teach us some Lao. It feels amazing to meet and interact with the locals in a more organic way. This is what I love. The people are truly beautiful here.