Luang Prabang

We arrived in Luang Prabang after another bus ride that snaked through the gorgeous Laos countryside. We knew we had exactly five nights before our flight to Hanoi so we set about making the most of our time. On our first full day we spent our time exploring the town, walking around the Old Quarter, and browsing through the stalls at the night market.

The next morning we set off on a two day adventure tour which included trekking, a village stay, and kayaking. Due to the heavy rain we had had the night before, we quickly found ourselves wading through knee deep rivers at regular intervals and scaling around rice paddies. It was hard work in the hot and humid conditions, but we were rewarded with some great views and an amazing lunch including an endless supply of exotic fruit.

We arrived at a typical Hmong village shortly after midday and had the opportunity to have a good look around and ask loads of questions about the life of the villagers. By the evening we had made it to the second Hmong village where we spent the night. After an interesting 'shower' under a bamboo pipe we enjoyed watching the endless games played by the kids in the village; considering how little they had, it was great to see how unbelievably happy they all were. To round off a fantastic day, our guide then cooked us a traditional meal and served us some home-brewed Lao Lao (rice whiskey).

The next morning we trekked back down to the road, where we were picked up and taken to the start of the kayaking. We enjoyed kayaking down the river back towards Luang Prabang for around three hours (including a lunch stop). In general we were pretty successful at steering through the rapids, but we did manage to topple out on a couple of occasions!

On our last full day we hired a tuk tuk driver with a couple of friends and set out to visit the popular waterfalls around Luang Prabang. We were really impressed with how clean and clear the waterfalls were, so we spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing - it was a great end to a fantastic eleven days in Laos.

Next stop...Vietnam (and not sat in the aisle of a horrible bus with chickens for 30 hours, but flashpacking on a comfy 40 minute plane ride!)