Luang Prabang

The bus driver on the way Luang Prabang seemed to be on a mission to drive all day until we finally stopped at this place where village kids played and begged for money.  

On the way there, Claire "oh one of weak bladder" had to ask them to stop.  It turned out that half the bus was sat there busting and were really pleased someone had finally asked for an emergency stop!

We got there in time for a beautiful sunset, so we sat by the river eating the best salad we had tasted in months. This town is famous for its watercress salad and it made a real treat away from rice!

There are lots of Wat's (temples) around town which are stunning. We spent a lot of time just cruising from Wat to Cafe and Cafe to Wat.

French colonial houses litter the town so it has a very European feel to the place.

But there is also the reminder that we are still in Laos.

So what are you doing later?

The naughtiest looking Buddhas we've ever seen seem to be whispering sweet nothings into each other.

No this is not an abandoned car it was actually moving down the road and was one of three cars in town.

Lots of Monks come down from further up north to get education through their religion. It is an ace place to take lots of monk pictures.

Unfortunately there are still some monks who aren't practising just their English.  This cheeky chap spent about 40 minute befriending us before doing the "Will you sponsor me by giving my poor family money."  

Not very Monk...and not very Laos. He did spend a lot of time adjusting his robe though.

Claire was very excited about this photo, this old soldier survived the war and lost his wife 25 years ago and then became a monk.

He is 103, and the rest of the picture ( that you can't see shows his very fragile skin). He has had a couple of strokes but his toothless grin showed a very strong character.

Rice cakes dry by the side of the road, they are actually quite tasty if you can pretend you didn't see all the flies.

As we approach the "Golden Triangle" don't forget that drugs are bad and the government here doesn't want you to forget.

This billboard shows opium growing, processing, and then a bunch of whacked-up freaks laying around looking wasted.

There are too many monkeys being dragged from the jungle and stuck on a chain... he was kind of cute though.