Luang Prabang, Laos

After Kunming Burdett and Fowler had stop overs in Jinhong and Mengla* before getting to the Chinese border town of Mohan and getting over into Laos at Borten (in the back of a truck with a dead chicken).


The bus journeys were over some really terrible roads and zig zagged alongside a huge brand new motorway (it must have covered several hundred kilometres going through hills and over jungle - most of the motorway sections were on stilts - an enormous project) going right through the jungle that hadn't quite opened up. It would have been safe to assume the same journey would take 80% less time when it's finished. From Borten a relatively quick bus to Oudomxai (although the lads were convinced that the driver hadn't understood properly wherte we wanted to go) - then a quite long winded and uncomfortable mini bus to Luang Prabang - finished off by a motorbike taxi ride to the Heritage Hotel in Luang Prabang.

The picture is of the new pavillion which will house the revered Prabang Buddha statue that is currently housed in the Royal Palace Museum on the same site.

* - In Menlga it was decided to have a last Chinese meal. As absolutely no English was spoken in the chosen restaurant the phrase books came in handy but to most things we tried to order there was a shake of the head - and a new suggestion to which we the lads nodded emphatically even though they didnt know what it was. Nerves set in as the pair waited for the food - of which we had no idea what was coming. Food seemed ok until Fowler pointed out that the Restaurant emblem a picture of 2 dogs round it - indicating that it probably wasn't pork they were currently munching. Oh dear...