I have to say LAOS IS AMAZING!! The environment is beautiful, there are breathtaking temples to visit and the people are exceptionally friendly and welcoming.
After kayaking most of the way and taking a slow boat for the final stretch to Luang Prabang, we decided to spend two days here and explore.
Fork in the mekong North of Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is very much a tourist town, but it has managed to maintain a unique charm and beauty despite the heavy inlflux of westerners and the developement that ensues.The night markets (above) are enormous and present vast array of local handicrafts and even pickled snake whisky.
Luang Prabang waterfront.
The old quarter of Luang Prabang is world heritage listed due its incredible array of Temples (Wats) that appear on almost every street corner. The most famous is Wat Xieng Thong (above) with beautiful ornate golden figures and facades. 
Golden Nagas at Wat Xieng Thong
The main Buddha at Wat Xieng ThongAfter exploring the local Wats with Jerry our Canadian friend, the three of us wandered into the main school and ended up being invited into a local University English Class. The teacher and students were wonderful and very excited to have us talk to them in English and answer questions. For us it was a great experience and opportunity to learn about University life in Laos and the challenges associated with higher education here.
(Above: the English students in Luang Prabang)Luang Prabang offers exceptional dining and I quickly fell in love with the local cuisine. Below we have chicken stuffed in Lemon grass with a local lime/chili based dipping sauce. It was absolutely sensational but unfortunetly a bit of a speciality item and I did not see it anywhere else.
Sampling the chicken.
Unfortunately our time in Luang Prabang ran out quickly and we had to inflate the kayaks and prepare to head south for Vientine. In order to save time we decided to kayak half the way (230km) and take a slow boat for the remainder.
Fully inflated the Kayaks barely fit in our guesthouse room.
It was great to be back on the water and this stretch of river felt much more remote than the previous. It also felt much harder and the first day was agony for our muscles.
For the first 50k out of Luang Prabang there were plenty of villages along the banks but they became more sparse as we continued south. Boat traffic was dramatically reduced with only local fishing boats and the occasional cargo boat. No toursit boats run this stretch to Pak Lay anymore and it seems less cargo is shipped along this stretch than between the north and Luang Prabang.
The first three nights we camped out and set up camp as previously.
The scenerary was just spectacular with higher mountains around us as we headed south through the Anam highlands.
The river was generally getting wider and the flow rate noticeably slower. This was good in that the water was flat and easy to navigate but it also meant we had to paddle harder and longer to maintain our 50km per day pace.
It was great to be back on the water and this stretch of river felt much more remote than the previous. It also felt much harder and the first day was agony for our muscles.
For the first 50k out of Luang Prabang there were plenty of villages along the banks but they became more sparse as we continued south. Boat traffic was dramatically reduced with only local fishing boats and the occasional cargo boat. No toursit boats run this stretch to Pak Lay anymore and it seems less cargo is shipped along this stretch than between the north and Luang Prabang.
The first three nights we camped out and set up camp as previously.
The scenerary was just spectacular with higher mountains around us as we headed south through the Anam highlands.
The river was generally getting wider and the flow rate noticeably slower. This was good in that the water was flat and easy to navigate but it also meant we had to paddle harder and longer to maintain our 50km per day pace. For both of us the last couple of days were the hardest physically. There were times when I kept thinking I would rather being relaxing back in Luang Prabang with a chilled Beer Laos and it took all my strength to push on.
Local monks in their beautiful flowing robes traversing the mekong.
Annam highlands to the west during late afternoon.
Ths was my favourite campsite!! We set up camp just to the right, on top of this great big sand dune. Amazingly this great dune was deposited during the previous wet season when the river rose a full ten metres above the current water level.
Local monks in their beautiful flowing robes traversing the mekong.
Annam highlands to the west during late afternoon.
Ths was my favourite campsite!! We set up camp just to the right, on top of this great big sand dune. Amazingly this great dune was deposited during the previous wet season when the river rose a full ten metres above the current water level.
Waiting for a large cargo ship to pass a paricularly narrow channel between the rocks.
Duncan enjoying some local stream water mixed with one purification tablet and a beroca to give energy and mask the foul chlorine flavour of the purification tablet.
On the fourth night of the leg to Pak lay, we stopped at a village late in the day to see if we could get some 'Feu', the delicous local noodle soup. The village was a bit larger than many of the others we had passed and had what appeared to be quite a large school visible from the river. It was a Beautiful village with some quite well developed houses nestled amongst the swaying palms, as well as many of the more traditional timber and thatched roof huts.
Immediately after climbing out of the kayaks we were greated by a crowd of smiling children and one lady who invited us up to see the village. after asking in our very basic Laos phrases wether there was a 'Hahn ahahn' (restaraunt) we were invited up and offered dinner and accomodation for the night with the family of the village head. Their hospitality was truly beautiful and staying with them was perhaps the most memorable experience of the trip. 
Our host family (above) and the newly built Buddha looking out above the village. 
After staying at the village overnight we set off the next to Pak Lay in a local village boat accompanied by the friendly English teacher, Phonie, who offered to be our guide for the day and tell us about the region and show us some other villages.
Duncan enjoying some local stream water mixed with one purification tablet and a beroca to give energy and mask the foul chlorine flavour of the purification tablet.
On the fourth night of the leg to Pak lay, we stopped at a village late in the day to see if we could get some 'Feu', the delicous local noodle soup. The village was a bit larger than many of the others we had passed and had what appeared to be quite a large school visible from the river. It was a Beautiful village with some quite well developed houses nestled amongst the swaying palms, as well as many of the more traditional timber and thatched roof huts.
Immediately after climbing out of the kayaks we were greated by a crowd of smiling children and one lady who invited us up to see the village. after asking in our very basic Laos phrases wether there was a 'Hahn ahahn' (restaraunt) we were invited up and offered dinner and accomodation for the night with the family of the village head. Their hospitality was truly beautiful and staying with them was perhaps the most memorable experience of the trip. Language was intially a major barrier as we sat down and were offered tea. No one appeared to speak any English and our phrasebook allowed only very basic dialogue.
However, soon a crowd of villagers had joined us including some teachers, one of whom was the local English teacher. Through him we were able to converse very effectively and learnt a tremeandous amount about the village and its challenges.
We were given a full tour of the primary and secondary school, both of which were basic and in need of some attention.
Our host family (above) and the newly built Buddha looking out above the village.
After staying at the village overnight we set off the next to Pak Lay in a local village boat accompanied by the friendly English teacher, Phonie, who offered to be our guide for the day and tell us about the region and show us some other villages.
