Luang Prabang was the most peaceful city either of us have ever been to. Nestled on a peninsular at the junction of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers, it is not a particularly large city but it certainly is charming. The sounds of monastic chimes are carried on a gentle breeze which pervades through boutique shops, cafes, art galleries and quaint – but expensive – guest houses. The nightly market has a technicolour plethora of scarves, rugs, bags and purses; and you’re not beseeched to buy anything if you don’t want to. Chiffron-clad monks are omnipresent, and smile beatifically as they stroll past picturesque colonial French buildings.

On the first day we visited a nearby waterfall, forget the name now, but it was a 30k tuk-tuk ride outside of town. the journey gave us a chance to take in some of the countryside. The people here live much more pastoral, or traditional, lives than in Thailand. They live in wooden shacks with thatched rooves; chickens, buffalo and goats roam freely, often with their young in tow; firewood is piled up on the roadside; and verdant rice paddies stretch as far as the base of the gigantic mountains in the background.

The waterfall itself was amazing. We trekked to the very top, climbing an almost vertical cliff face, to be rewarded with a magnificent view. At each level there was a sparkling azure lagoon that you could swim in – we’d never seen water so blue, it was as if we were at a water park!

So becalmed were we by the whole Luang Prabang experience that we decided to have an hour-long Laos massage. It was very therapeutic and we came out feeling even more relaxed, had a cup of tea, and went to bed.

Aaah Luang Prabang

We arose at 5am for the journey to Vang Vieng. It was undoubtedly our worst journey yet, involving a 7-hour public bus journey along treacherously winding mountain roads. It was OK when we were high in the mountains, looking down on valleys enveigled in the morning mist; but when we descended into the mist things became a little…uncertain (Amy was in tears!). We passed another bus that had broken down and inherited its passengers (they were given little stools to sit on in the aisles!). They included a bag of live chickens and, of course, a screaming baby (well, what nightmareish journey would be complete without one!?) and without the air-con we were promised, it made for a sweaty ride.

We took a speed-boat across the border into Laos – the border being the Mekong river – and stayed in a town called Huay Xai, in a guest house run by a ratchedy old woman who looked like she may practice voodoo in her spare time. She was also a cunning entrepneur, who seemed to be able to organise anything…for a price. It was through her that we arranged our 2-day slow boat trip down the Mekong.

Fun on the slow boat

We arrived at the pier early and were pleasantly surprised at how much space we would have; we had a whole bench to ourselves. That surprise soon turned to consternation as the boat began to fill with more and more people. There seemed to be a constant stream of backpackers trailing down the hill! By the time we set adrift (2 hours later) the only floor space left was a narrow walkway that allowed access to the toilets and refreshments.

Although it sounds like a hellish way to spend 9 hours, it was actually quite entertaining. The alcohol was flowing – we even had to stop to re-stock it – and the passengers were in an ebullient mood as we edged our way along the tranquil brown waters of the meandering Mekong, through misty mountains bearded with trees, past the occasional elephant, waterfall, or hill tribe village.

All the travellers aboard the boat were swapping stories, and we found quite a few drinking buddies. We particularly got on with a Canadian couple, Derek and Jill, who we are still hanging around with now.

One drunk Canadian even fell overboard. It was hilarious! He’d already fallen into the boat and given himself a black eye, so when we heard a huge splash the whole boat guessed what had happened straight away. Most of the passengers rushed to one side in concern, but Amy and I were doubled up in stitches as we watched him floundering; we were still giggling about it a couple of hours later! (We actually met the Canadian in question at a bowling alley in Laos (don’t ask why we were at a bowling alley) and he turned out be a nice guy, just got a little carried away!)

Our ‘room’ in Pak Beng

We stopped overnight in a place called Pakbeng. It was less of a town a more a collection of hutments wedged into the side of a cliff. We had dinner in a wooden shack with a corrugated iron roof, that had no electricity – it was lit entirely by candelight; and our room was more of a shed. We’d heard bad things about Pakbeng but we loved it’s authenticity (much more so than Thailand) and had a pleasant stay.

The next day was another 7 hours of plain sailing and we arrived at our destination, Luang Prabang, a couple of days ago. As usual we love it so far, Laos is so laid back…