Laos: 24th-30th June.

The next 2 days were spent on a slow boat, drifting south on the mighty Mekong River to Luang Prabang. After border formalities we piled onboard and sat down onto seating that seemed as if it had been lifted out of an aeroplane! On our first day we stopped to visit a hill tribe community, which felt slightly awkward, but the children were lovely and eager to have their picture taken.

Late in the afternoon there was huge thunderstorms so we moored ashore with the plastic shutters down to wait it out while singing Queen with full ferocity. A funny memory- apparently, Matt saw lightening struck the mud just a few metres away, apparent by the scream he made! That evening we stopped in the small town of Pak Beng in nice, clean accommodation even though the generator cut out daily between 10.30pm and 6.30pm the following day that made for a considerably hot nights sleep due to the lack of air con/fans. For dinner we feasted on Lao beer and sesame covered seaweed, a local delicacies even if ants covered the table. Jess wasn’t feeling too well so headed to bed early. The next day we re-boarded our boat and cruised down to Pak Ou caves filled with thousands of Buddha carvings and images. On the way we saw a wild elephant by the side of the river complete with tusks, which was very exciting. Early evening we arrived into Luang Prabang the former Royal capital of Laos. That evening we decided what we wanted to do throughout our stay in Luang Prabang which was made a little tricky by Yin (the crappest tour guide ever) who was incredibly impatient and rude because he wanted to leave us to eat, oh yes, this was the start of some startling behavioural performances which would continue throughout the trip. On the 26th June, we parted ways for the day. Armelle got up early for a half a day of elephant riding and half a day of kayaking. The elephants were lovely but the kayaking was possible the best thing Armelle did in Southeast Asia. Paddling through the Mekong Valley was simple beautiful with the occasional water buffalo and fisherman startled by our presence. On a couple of times we came face to face with groups of giggling children who seemed to be convinced that it was their mission in life to capsize the kayaks! The day ended with an incredible rainstorm, which required much leaping out of kayaks and running across a huge bridge bare foot.

Meanwhile, Jess had an equally rememberable time, and headed on a handy crafts tour and renting out a bike with the boys to explore the French colonial town. To Jesses embarrassment the boys we on a mission to buy monk robes and insisted that they would wear their purchases on the plane on the way home. Jess decided to wait outside the shop while they were being instructed how to assemble the outfit.

That evening we had a girly group dinner accompanied by a couple of stray cats! We then browsed the local night market, which was fantastic, and full of tasteful handicrafts from wall hangings to wallets- oh how we wish that these rare treats of high quality goods were evident in all markets in SE Asia! On our last full day in the area before flying south to Vientiane, we hopped on a ‘jumbo’ to Kuang Si falls where pale turquoise waters cascade over the limestone formations. After clambering halfway up the falls for a photography session, we headed to one of the pools at the base for a refreshing dip, and boy, was it cold! A couple of local kids showed off their Tarzan impersonations in front of an applauding crowd. At the entrance to the falls was a sanctuary for black bears that had been rescued from cruel homes. They seemed to be having a wail of a time play fighting even though you cannot help but feel that they would be better off in the wild. In the afternoon, we climbed to the top of Mount Phoussi, which provides fantastic views over the town and valley. The remainder of the afternoon was spent on the internet (somewhat of an unreliable connection due to regular power cuts) and ended the day with a lovely bbq where we were staying- a perfect staggering distance to bed! The next morning we paid a speedy visit to the Royal Palace Museum, which has remained, untouched since the royal family departed in 1975. It was time to say goodbye to our Lao guide, Chan, who we had all taken a shine to. We then took a short flight to Vientiane after an unexplained delay. Vientiane is possibly the most laid back, relaxed and slow paced capital city to exist on planet earth. Due to the love of markets, a group of us hastily walked into town with the excitement of potential bargains in our minds! However, the market was a bit of a let down as mainly sold household goods and clothes of the latest Lao fashion. To make the most of being in that end of town, we headed to the arc de triumph replica. This was the most hilarious monument ever to be seen. Constructed out of unused concrete from the local airport, the plaque outside had no shame in calling it a monster of concrete. That evening we dinner at a local outdoors restaurant, close to the river. The next day was Buddha park day and what fun we had! A lengthy tuk tuk ride away from the capital, nestled into the side of a river was the sculpture park. The park is filled with mutated Buddha statues- fancy putting a snake’s head and horses legs on a Buddha and hey presto- we have a statue. Sam, Matt, Vicky and the two of us had a great time clambering onto and ridiculing the monstrosities, its nice to see some light hearted artwork! After a lazy afternoon we went out to dinner en mass and afterwards, Val, Sam, Matt and Armelle decided to embrace the local night life and danced the night away in a roof top club, part of one of the huge fancy hotels in Vientiane, ladyboys and prostitutes a plenty! Needless to say, the next day, 4 of the 10 had very sore heads, probably not the best combination with a windy bus ride to Hin Boun. After a day of driving through the spectacular mountain scenery and some projectile vomiting from Val, we arrived in the village. To end the day, we took a boat ride along the breathtakingly beautiful river in old soldered together bombshells. That evening we stayed with a local family and after eating a delicious home cooked dinner we settled into our mosquito net covered beds. Throughout the night, it rained and it rained and it rained! When we woke, after a quick wet dash to the outside loo it had come to our notice that there had been a large landslide at the end of the road and we were all closed in! With our bags hoisted on our backs and makeshift rain covers in full swing we then waded through the mud and over the embankment of earth to the main road, with several peoples shoes falling victim to the squelching mud. We then climbed into a tuk tuk to complete our journey to the Vietnamese border, singing at first but after an hour or so, we started to feel a little sorry for ourselves due to being soaked through!

Thailand: 21st-23rd June.

We arrived into Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur early afternoon on the 20th June. Full of adrenaline and backpacker spirit we decide to forgo the easy option of getting a taxi to the hotel where we would be meeting our group later that evening. So we clambered onboard the express bus with the false illusion that it would speed us into the centre of Bangkok. So we were swiftly delivered to the transportation centre- what, where? After some confusing conversations with a group of bus drivers, we were hustled onto a bus. After about half an hour we were deep into the depths of the city with no clue where to get off! After buying out ticket from the best ticket dispenser ever- a long metal tube that opened and shut quicker than you could ever imagine containing a whole rainbow of reels of tickets- we stepped of the bus and told that we needed to get another one. Once on board this bus we were told that it was not the right one. At this point we came to the safe conclusion that Thais do not speak as much English as we had ignorantly presumed. We then decided that we had tried our best as far as using the local buses was concerned and opted for a taxi. Typically, the taxi driver did not have a clue where it was that we wanted to go and after much pointing to numerous sheets of paper and card, he phoned the hotel- a very sensible option we thought! Once at the Grandville in Chinatown we had a quick nab in preparation to meet our Intrepid group, our companions for the next 29days. We snoozed for half an hour that even though it was rather lengthy, our impromptu journey cost about an 8th of the price of getting a taxi from the airport direct to the hotel- result! The first impressions of our group were interesting especially of our group leader, a relationship that went particularly sour, especially with Armelle. After a group dinner on Khao San Road we decided to have a stroll around the favoured backpacker hangout. We were very pleased to feast our eyes on a Boots! We then bumped into Rhian and James completely by surprise. We knew that they were in Bangkok but really didn’t think we would see them. We had a couple of drinks at an assortment of waterholes along Khao San while the rest of our group retired to bed. The next day was officially the first full day of our tour. We set off in the morning for a long tail boat tour of Bangkok’s famous klongs, obviously feeding some giant thrashing catfish on our way!

We then visited the huge reclining Buddha at Wat Po with the most intricate mother of pearl detail on its feet. Unfortunately, our guide was rather hard to understand.

In the sweltering heat we then made our way to the grand palace, which was utterly stunning, with great overbearing warriors grimacing at us at every opportunity.

We then trundled along to Khao San road to good old Johnny Walker to sample the Thai curries. We then met back at the hotel at 4pm to dubiously make our way to the train station to board our 14-hour sleeper train to Chiang Mai. With the joys of the Indian overnight train being relatively fresh in our minds, we braced ourselves to experience cockroach covered pillows and a night of foot fumbling, however the Thais seem to do it best! Rather than in cabins, the beds lined the corridor and a couple of hours into the journey or when you requested it, a lady came to assemble and make the beds with fresh linen and a smile! There were even little shelves to place bedside belongings, oh, and a little light! Jess opted for the top bunk and the other of the duo enjoyed a comfortable nights sleep beneath her.

In the morning, we woke to calm Thai countryside, bright green, backed by rolling hills. Once in Chiang Mai we clambered onboard the awaiting vehicles and the sleepy passengers headed off to breakfast. We then continued onto the People Place guesthouse and prepared ourselves for the day ahead. Unfortunately we only had one full day and night in Chiang Mai due to the greediness of wanting to see 4 countries in 1 month! We spent the morning exploring the main temples in the city along with Vicky, Anna and Sarah. The 2-hour excursion set us back a hefty £1.50 each! Each of the temples was very different.

One had been ruined by an earthquake with a fat red sitting Buddha tucked away behind it, the other had a ton of philosophical meanings printed on green plaques hanging from the trees with the sound of school pupils playing the drums filling the air.

The other was being restored with a clay dragon being skilfully carved at its entrance. Chiang Mai is a walled city and for lunch we were dropped at the main gate. Due to sheer laziness, we ate at the nearest establishment- the Black Canyon Café where the iced coffees were fantastic even if they did contain an obscene amount of calories. That afternoon, we settled on different activities to end our day. Jess headed off for a cooking class at the well renowned Chiang Mai cookery school where ingredients were freshly purchased from the neighbouring market. Armelle decided upon some down time and was on a mission to experience to apparent delights of a Thai message. The massage was an experience to say the least with limbs being pulled, pushed and pummelled all over the place. Due to Armelles incredibly dire foot condition- oh yes, the crustiness has been present since Singapore- every time the soles were glanced open, a wave of embarrassment engulfed her. We then spent the evening wandering through the colourful stalls of the night bazaar, restricting ourselves as much as possible. However, a bag of lychees and a string of hanging light were most definitely necessary purchases. Our group leader Yin then suggested that we jump onboard a red-fire-truck tuk tuk and go for a drink at the Monkey Club, a popular destination for students.

On arrival, the bar was packed with all eyes and ears on a local, interesting sounding band. Once we found a vacant table, we ordered our drinks and were promptly serenaded by a group of ladyboys as Vicky and Jess had ordered 2 for 1 Malibu and cokes. You are supposed to order bottles of spirits and share them amongst your group of friends by the emptying bottles present on other tables. A very enthusiastic British English teacher then came to join us, one of Yins friends- we ended up wishing he were our guide instead.

The next morning we trundled off to Doi Suthep before going on our way to Chiang Khong, a border town a 7-hour bus ride away. Doi Suthep is a mountain temple and on our way up, we overtook 15,000 Chaing Mai university students. Different brightly coloured t-shirts were worn by members of different subject, lead by students in the year above them. It was such a sight to see all the thousand of students marching there way up the mountain as their yearly tradition, we felt like cheats being in a bus. Once off the bus, we walked up a steep fight of steps to reach our temple destination with the staircase being guarded by huge dragonheads.

There were fantastic views of the city from the top and our guide spoke brilliant English. Each of our group were blessed by the monks in the form of a white string bracelet tied around our wrists. We then departed on our way to the Thai border town. For our lunch we stopped at the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant. The restaurant, supported by the government, promotes family planning, and it was quite a novelty to see large condom shaped statues dotted around the grounds. We then continued on our way and stopped at the White Temple, possibly the most fantasy imitating/disgusting building you could ever set your eyes upon. The temple was relatively new and was basically white washed with tiny segments of mirror stuck all over it. A red painted skull with an empty bottle of wine stuck onto it marked the entrance- we were not exactly sure what this was supposed to mean. Before you crossed the bridge to the temple, the was a pool, which consisted of numerous plaster cast arms reaching out of it- it was like a scene out of a horror film. In its defence, from afar it did look as if it had been plucked from a fairytale. We eventually arrived at our accommodation for the night that overlooked the Mekong River into Laos. The guesthouse was not so nice, starting with a monkey tied up outside. Our room was relatively clean but unfortunately Sarah was severely savaged by bed bugs in the night. We enjoyed a group dinner to commemorate our last night in Thailand.