Pics

I know you’ve all been missing having a peek at what’s going on with us in Asia. Therefore, I present, for your consideration, a few snaps from Laos.

Luang Prabang

Most of the time we were in Luang Prabang it rained. But then I guess we had it coming after the countless days without in Indonesia (the only day it rained was when we were on a 13hour night-bus and the roof leaked!). That said, the town is beautiful. I believe it’s the first UNESCO World Heritage Site we’ve visited (I may be wrong), and it doesn’t disappoint with Buddhist temples looking surprisingly at home amongst classic French buildings.

One of the many, many Vats (temples). Probably not the prettiest, but certainly one of the rare glimpses of anything approaching good light during our stay.

An ostrich as a pet. Why not?

The houses all had beautiful French architecture too (behind).

… I think they sting.

At the top of the Pousi (hill?) in the centre of town there were even more temples.

Buddah taking 40 winks.

Time for a nap?

The view from the top

The way up to the top.

A little more awake: This scene just screams “France” to me (I have no idea why).

Even monks have to hang out their dirty laundry. Bright orange hanging out to dry was a surprisingly common sight across Luang Prabang.

More of the same.

And again (sorry).

Treking in Muang Sing, Northern Laos.

I’m sure Lou will fill you in on more of the hardship of our Trek in Laos (probably our last I gather). however, the gist of it was that we trekked out to an Akha tribe up in the mountains and stayed the night with them sampling a bit of their lifestyle (food, massages, home-made Lao Lao etc etc). Everyone in the village was wonderful, and the kids found us particularly fascinating.

The view just around the corner from the village.

A swing. Every Akha village seems to have one but frankly they look terrifyingly like something out of The Wicker Man.

Playing in the village.

The only publishable shot from the kids efforts to take a picture on my camera.

Village life.

The gang.

Some of the little terrors closer up. The hats are part of the Akha traditional costume.

Meal time seems more like a war.

Muang Sing itself

Lou wasn’t feeling great so I decided to take a trip to the Chinese border (12km away). Here is what I saw.

Rice paddies.

I think China was over the top of these (maybe).

More rice.

The Bus to Phonesavahn

On the way to see the famous Plain of Jars we stopped (many, many times), and some of the locals were enjoying a spot of the beautiful game. I snapped happily away.

This is where the luggage goes. This time we were lucky. It had a tarpaulin. Yesterday we weren’t so lucky, hence why all my clothes are currently hanging off an impromptu drying line in my room.

That’s all for now. More updates soon I hope.