29.06.2013 : Shioukville - Siem Reap

well that was an interesting  bus ride! the bunks were double but luckily i shared with a loveky girl from Byron Bay...it was very bumpy and i realised how bad the roads must be here. at 6am unfortunately we got a flat tyre so hing around a little village for abiut 3hours until they got us mini buses to continue the last 183km to siem reap.  i eventually arrived at 12pm, checked into our very basic but private room which was nice and headed into thw rown. i found a loveky cafe called Blue Pumpkin and chilled out there for the afternoon before Rat arrived ay 7pm...eeekkkk was soooooo lovely to see her!! Siem Reap is a cyte little town by the river - it is really made up of restaurants, bars and marlets but is done in a nice way - i am a fan! it is way less busy and hustly and bustly that Hanoi or even Hoi An actually! 

28.06.2013 : Koh Rong - Siem Reap

i left paradise to an equally good beacja dn chilled out in Shionkville. while i was having lunxh i got chatting to a guy who worked at yhe bar and he rold me about his campaign he has set up - he volunteers and goes to help and bring supplies amd medicine to help the children that live there. just an amazimg thing to do. he was learning words out of am pxford english book - i would have loved  to have visited the dump but unfortinatley didnt time as i was gettig the night bus to siem reap this evening so i just donated some money toit...www.helpsunset.com

27.06.2013 : Koh Rong

i woke up in paradise today - the island was just stunning and so quiet. crystal clear sea, beach side hostels and white sand. myslrf, nick, maddy and ben trekked it to the other side of the island to Long Beach...oh em geeeeee - it was amazing!!! the sea wqs SO clear, turquoise and SO hot!! it was like a bath! there was basicqlly noone on the bwach apart frpm a deserted old resort and a few bavkpackers thay had hiked acorss. we all squished into thw teeniest boat wjen it was time to head back to the main beach! was a litrle scaey at times to say the least! we spent the evening jist chillimg out on the bwach and went swimmimg in the evening with the glowing plankton - it was just magical!! 

25/26.06.2013 : Vietnam - Cambodia

i got the 12hr day bus across the border from HCMC to Shioukville! the journey actually wqsmt too bad and only had a minor hiccup in Phnom Penh where the bus we got on was full so theu gave us a mini bus...not too shabby! we had a fair few well desrrved drinks at a bar on the beach when we arrived in Shioukville - delightful! i woke up slightly hungover in the morning to get the boat across to Koh Rong...and boy did i arrive onto a paradise island?! it was absolutely stunning. i checked into a hostel right on the beach called Bunna's. he was a really interesting guy...had got up to all sorts in his life - was only 29 and decided to buy the land on the island. he has built the hostel by himself with the help of friends and it was definietly a working progress. it was quite sad to hear that the people on the island basically are so poor all the development  work on the osland is very slow. anyway i had a lveky eve - met some ppl fronthe uk...surprise surprise haha and we went for dinner at cocos - $2.50 chicken bbq...sooooo cheap!! 

24.06.2013 : HCMC

another day for a history lesson - off to thw Chi Chu tunnels. again, so interesting to learn how the vietamese, dispite a lack of weapons, outsmarted the americans. the tunnels were just incredicle but sooo narrow - cant believe people down there for so long! their booby traps were rather horrid but clever and they were so resourceful - even reused the old american bombs yo kill the US army!! we also stopped at a craft workshop where sufferes fromthe Agent Orange chemical  inlay mother of pearl and egg shells into artwork - it is just stunning but a little pricey unfortunately! back in HCMC i did a bit of sourvenier shopping and met Ian for dimner...had the yummiest lasagne ever!!!

23.06.2013 : HCMC

arrived in around 6am so after breakie headed out into Vietnams capital - Saigon (HCMC). i walked through the Ben Tham Markets, past the Reunification Palace to the War Museum. i met Ash and Jen and we walked round the museum. it was so intereting - so much footage/stories and facts abiut the war. it really was just so awful. thee worst thinh was the chemical Agent Orange that the americans sprayed iver all the land. not only dod it gas everything if people inhaled it, when they had babies they were disfigured and deformed from it :( so awful - there were so many people begging in the sreets that are stil affected by it - thats 3generations from the war. we also saw rhe 'Tiger Cages' - barbed wire cages they kept the vietnamese prisioners in. we then grabbed some lumch by Nitre Dame and the Post office before parting ways. i took the scenic route back to the hostel alomg Le Loi stret - a very rich road with all the designer shops - it is drfinietly a wealthy city and SO different from Hanoi! 

22.96.2013 : Nah Trang -HCMC

another lazy day, skyoed mum and dad, treated myself to a massage before getting the 10hr night bus to HCMC! 

21.06.2013 : Nha Trang

we areived in at 6am and the journwy wasnt too bad! i checked into Backpacker hostel...very friendly staff and nice bug airconned rooms and headed out to explore. a busy city i guess by the beach with mountains in the backdrop. there isnt muchhere in terms of culture...a hot spot for russian tourists and partiers! i had a swim and tried to find a camera to buy before an immense Pomello Salad at a veitnamese restaurant: Kirin recommended by thw Lonely Bible ;) haha

20.06.2013 : Hoi An to Nha Trang

after cancelling all my cards i remebered my twl old aussie ones...luckily they both worked - yay! i got cash out and rebooked myself onto the night bus (a lovely canadian girl gave me hers as she wasnt using it...there really are some lively people in the world) and headed tot he police station. after 2hrs i got a police report of the incodent  but was told to come back to colect the copy at 3pm..not sure why.?! anyway i wemt to collect my blazer and dress, had a final lunch wirh Alixe as she was heading back to Hanoi to meet her sister and went back to wait at the police station. after an hiur and a half of ppl laughing at me and not speaking english, me in tears as i jad to catch thw bus and wanted to have a shower as it was a million degress outside the guy turned up with the copy of the report! i rushed back to the hostel, quickly showered and hoped on the night bus to Nha Trang! a rather emotionally exhausting day - just couldnt believe i was in paradise kne minute and then that happened...but i know it really could have been so much worse!

19.06.2013 : Cham Islands - Hoi Am

unfortunately the time had come to leave paradise and head back to the main land!  we got back about 1pm and after luch myself and Alice wandered throygh the town and got sucked in to one pf the tailors haha i left having chosen tk have a summer dress amd casual blazer made and Alice got 2dresses made! we had a refreshinh dip in thw pool at the hostel before dinner and a few bevvies at the hotel. we fancied a few more sp made our way down the road to Why Not bar when theost randlm thinh jappened...a guy drove past om his scootee and bumped into me before i realised he had stolen my bag right off my shoulder!!!! we were in shock and then another guy rode past...so we think if the first one wasnt lucly the other one would have tried. very scary and it just shows you nevee to let your guard down. unfortunately the nag had my new camera in it, my bus pass, a load of cash and my bank card because i just never expected anything like that to happen - lesson learnt!! 

18.06.2013 : Cham Islands

up at the ceack of dawn to watch Heip and Tung fish! they cast amassssssive net eveeyday and leave it there overnighy. every morning the oull it in to see what they have caught. today they caught abiut 8 crabs, 1 massive one they could sell and about 3 fiah and some sea snails so it really qasnt alot. apparently they wouls only sell the big crB and would get abiur 200,00 dong($10) for it which would last tjem abit 2days! amazing! we had a go at bamboo fishing but with no luck we headed nack to the house ro wat the fresh crab ansd noodles. they only hve elextricity on the island from 11-1 and 6.30pm-10.30pm!  after breakie we walked down to thw local village/beach where it was all go go go! a tiurist boat of chinese people had arrived so the villagers were deserperatly trying to sell all rheir seafood for the Chinese ppls lunch! itis amazimg and yiu suddenly understand why they hassel you so much - just selling one animal would cover the livinv costs for about 2-5days!  after another massive spread for lunch we headed to our secret beach! it really was just hwaven..we coulsnt believe ww were there! after initially only gojng over for a nught we decided to stay anithee so joined Heip and Tung in thevillage for their weekly outdoor cinema viewing!! amazing!! it was a film.kn the vietnamese war...you jyst would neve expect that kind of event from such a remote tiny village!! 

17.06.2013 : Cham Islands

oh em gee did we stumble across paradise!! myself and alice had a wee adventure and got rhe local boat across to the Cham Islands rather than doing an organised snorklimg tour...after a few mis-directions  we got onto right boat and motored out of rhw inlet to the sea. here we met an american guy Ian who was doing a homestay kn the island - he didnt know many details but invited us to join him so we did! after arrivig at  the town of Bai Lang on Hon Lao island we took a smaller local boat to the other side. we were met by Heip, an absolutely lovely vietnamese women who was our host. she spoke almost no engkosh but was so attentive amd carig. she lived with her husband Tung who was an equally beautiful, kimd hwarted man and their two children (who we didnt meet). we were welcomed by a massive spread of fresh fish, stirfried veg, noodles and a broth soup - it was all delicious!  after lunch Tung took us on a wee hike through thw jungle and when we arrived at the beach we couldnt believe our eyes....it was liteeally paradise - our very own deserted beach lined with palm trees, whitw sand and turquoiae calm qaem water!! there was noone on the beach apart from the odd cow and goat and crabs climbimb the rocks. i went for a walk and ran into a guy who sold us coconuts he literally cut from the tree infront of us! amazing!!! we watched the sun start to set before heaidmg back to the house for another amazing spread of food. we were also joined by an american girl and a vieynamese girl that had studyed in sydney and america which was great as we had a translater! we walked down to the local bwach to watch rhw stars before and early night in our basix byt lovely rooms!

16.06.2013 : Hoi An

we hired biles to exlpore the little streets of Hoi An...we were sligtlt tempted by the tailors but refraned from getting anything made! we rode across the old japanese bridge and saw the oldest pagoda in Hoi An. after lunch we rode out to the beach - it was a nice big bay with very fine sand  but Alice jad read about thw Cham Islands so we planned to go there tomorrow! 

15.06.2013: Hue - Hoi An via motorbike!

i was recommended to take Le Fakily Rodrrsotorbike ride from Hue to Hoi An by Sylvi...so i did amd told alice about it so she came to! we had a very ful day traveling down the coast - first stop were the lush, bright green paddy fields  and a small little village we walked around. it was beautful, had a stream running through it qith a gorgeous old vietnamese bridge to cross it. the village was all busy with the morning market so we wemt to thwir local museum where a funny little old vietnamese lady showed us how she picks, dries, siefts and grinds the rixe to make flour! we hopped back on the bikes and stopped at a familys temple - in vietnam the temples belong to families whereas rhw pagodas are where the monks live. the family xomes here once a year to give blessings/pray and it was SO elaborate!  we then rode for a while to a secluded littlw waterfall and we werr the only ones there! we cooled off in the cool water, jumped in frpm the rocks and shared a beer while drying off..idyllic! next stop was a seafood hot pot lunh on a floatong restaurant. and wow did we have a spread- prawns, squid, clams, crab, porl noodles, rice and mongostene for dester! we were stuffed! we then rode up the mountain where we had stunning views of the coastline and towards Da Nang (the city before Hoi An). we stopped off at the top of the mountain to see bunkers that were built by the frnch and used by the americams...you could still see the bullet holes in the concrete! then down we went into Da Nang and past a white female buddha statue (this is the first place i have seen female buddahs...a symbol of equality between men and women..wjich definitely makes sense as the women do so much work here - not just at the homes but hard graft worl in the streets etc)  we had a swim stop on the long white sandy beach before hesding to marble mountain. here we climbed the 144 stairs to see pagodas and very imprssove women buddhas status that had been built in caves! rather amazing! there were 5 mountains which stood for the 5 elememts; water, fire, gold, silver and...i cant remember the last one!! we arrived into Hoi An about 5pm wjich is when Vicly dod too so after freshening up we took a wander around the cute little lantern lit streets pf Hoi An. we had dinner overlooking the river..it was so pretty and so dofferent to hanoi. all the streets were lined with tailors ans shoe manufacturers! after dinner we carried on the nighy at backpacker bar and then volcano bar..quite the experience : $4 All you can drink and there were about 10 of ua in there!! 

14.06.2013 : Hue

i met 2girls on the night bus - Vicky (from the netherlands) and Alice, from the UK! e arrived in about 9.00am and were dropped right outside the hostel..what luxury! after breakie  we walked across the river that runs through the center of Hue  to the Citadel. this is where rhe Emperor lived before the Americans bombed it. it was a lovely big area of various  out houses and gardens surrounded by a moat - ot would have been a beautiful place to live in its hey day - they were doing quite a lot of restoration to the buildings. we then had lunch amd chilled out in the hostel for a bit before hittong thw eveninh night markers and dinner at one of the market food stalls on the river. it was lovely and we joined another girl from the hostel and were joined by a few others so veey social!

13.06.2013 : Hanoi - Hue

i started off the day with the cooking class at Blue Butterfly. i did it with a frnch candian girl that i was randomly sittig next to on the bus yesterday!! we wemt to the food markrt to choose some of the ingredients for the food and tried some coconut milk! we made a feast of Papaya salad with seafood, stirfried chicken with chilli and lemongrass, fresh spring rolls with beef, and friend spring rolls with seafood...yum! after enhoyinb the feast i went back to the hsotel and bumped into Dee! so lovely to see her so wandered to thw lake with her and some guys she had met - we went across the bridge to thw temple...not entirely sure what it was there for but it has something to do with a lucky turtle..?!  i headed back to the hostel, stocked up on snacks and got ready for the 15hour overnight bus ride to Hue...ekkk!! 

12.06.2013 : Halong Bay - Hanoi

the day stared with my first vietnamese breakfast ; Pho noodle soup, fried rice, nopdles and veg and a coconut ake and fruit!! and yay the sun finally came out!! we sunbathes on the rooftop of the boat before another yummy lunch and back on the  minibus to Hanoi. we arrived back around 5pm so i took a walk to a restaurant mum recommended : Quan An Ngon...(only slightly delayed by a eager vietnamese guy wanting to practise his englosh!!) half an hour later i arrived to a cute little restaurant amde up pf lots of dofferent stalls and you sit in the middle to order. slightly more organised than i thought but i enjoyed some fresh spring rolls and a juice made of a fruit i cant remember the name of...kinda like a lime/lemon...very refreshing! 

11.06.2013 : Halong Bay

we motored along the peaceful waters around the islands before the group split up. myself, the two girls from Denmark and the 3Canadian girls were all staying the extra night so we headed for Cat Ba Island to the national park where we literally climbed up a mountain!!! i was of course very well prepared in flipflops and a dress haha but it was wpth it when ee gpt to the top! a stunning view over the jungled mountain tops of Cat Ba Idland. from there we checked into Sunflpwer One hotel where i had another gorgeous room - double bed and an ensuite again!! after lunch and a wee nap we headed to Monkey Osland where the main residents were of course cheeky little moneksy!!  we watched them for a while before chilling out and reading my book...ita getting so exciting!! and i was nice and chilled until a naughty moneky decided to steal my drink from the table!! haha  we had a relaxomg evening just went for dinner and had a walk along the sea front and had a look at the floating restaurants in the bay!

10.06.13 : Hanoi - Halong Bay

we travelled the 4.5hrs to Halomg City by mini bus. we arrived onto our boat in time for a gprgeous spread a vietnamese dishes. we hada full steamed fish,  chicken stirfy, prawna, stirfried veg and rise with fruit for dessert. we then went to check out our rooms and it was luxury!! i jad my own room and ensuite - so spolit! we motored througj the stinnimg scenery of halong bay!  our first stop were the Surpsie Caves - a MASSIVE Series pf caves hidden in one of the islands - incredible! we then motored to a floatong village where we went kayaking for 40mins before heading to ANPTHeR island for a hike to the top for a stunning view before a well deserved swim in the warm sea! we had a lovely evening after another massive feast, sang kareoke and played ring of fire! 15 of us on thw boat : 2girls from Denmark, 3 girls from canada, 2 english couples, a canadian couple, a few americans and 2 guys from the 7k and our lovely guide Hue! 

09.06.2013 : Hanoi

i started the day with a walking tour through the old City. we started at a temple that was mafe for a white horse that helped the king build the wall around the old city. next stop was the  old city gate and then the Dong Xuan Market - the local food and clothes market. lots of produce here including pigs brain, half dead but still alive seafood, dried fish, fruit and veg and weasel coffee! we navigated the windy, busy streets of Hanoi full pf scooters beeping and people! shops were filled from floor to ceiling selling everything uou could ever want!  we ended the tour at Hoan Kiem Lake in the middle of the old coty. a gorgeous spacious area with a wee red bridge and temple in the middle of it. afyer a lunch of spring rolls i had a walk by myself around the lake and took a pit stop at a cafe to cool down, refresh and watch Brave! delightful! i then made my way back to the hostel via  St Joseph Cathedral and for a quick drink with Silyio and Renne...they were just passing througj on their way from Halomg Bay to Hue! I went via The Blue Butterfly restaurant to book a cooking vourse and ended up having dinner with two Finnish girls Lisa and Sandra. They were lovely and after dinner we had a walk around the night markets. it was SO hot and humid...11pm it was 40degrees and sp hazy - you could see all the mpistire in the aor! 

08.06.2013 : Vientiane - Hanoi! Day 41

i spent my last morning in relaxing heaven!! after a pain au chocolat for breakie myseld and Jess headed to a guy/pool spa and chilled out before having an hour long Laos massage! this was a mix between a thai and oil massage..lots of pressure used but not as much stretching with tiger balm massages in between...all rather delightful! i headed to the international airport about 12.30 and arrived on Hanoi at 4.30! it wasnt quite as crazy as i thought it would be..millions of scooters but it was a lot cleaner than india! there were gorgeous colourful little town houses along the road and the streetsof  the old city were windy and busy! i checked into a slightly overwhelmig Hanoi Backpackers...very busy and the biggest hostel i have been in sofae but rooms were nice and airconned...its the little things! after a meal of street food i chatted to some people beofre having an earlish night! 

07.06.2013 : Vientiane : Day 40

what a cultural day this was...although i felt like i was in Paris for most of it! myself and jess hired bikes and and did a cycle tour of the city! first stop The British Embassy so Jess coild collect her bank cards from the UK! then That Luang Neua, a very old gold monument/museum surrounded by gorgeous gardens.  we then stumbled across the Asian Arc De Triumph - am absolutely syunning replica of the one in Paris...with an asian twist of course!  we then cycled past Hor Phakeo (a temple which used to house the Emeral Buddha before it was taken back to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Wat Sisaket, a lovely tenple...very french out buildings with little shutters, a photo outside the Presidential Palace and then a long lunch break at the Scandinavian cafe that sat near the Namphu Fountain. we took the scenic route back to the hsotel via the river and met up with Dee, Buck and TIm in the evening for a Traditional eveninh of Laos entertainemnt and a 7course meal! it was lovely, lots of dancing, elaborate costumes and music. for dimner we hada clear veg soup, chocken Laab, friend chicken, limey steamed fish in a banan leaf, fried bamboo, spring rolls, a fish salad and of course sticky rice!!

6.06.2013 : Vang Veing - Vientiane

only a 4hr minibus journey to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. we arrived abiut 2pm so myself and Jess explored the very European/French city. it was lovely, small and lits of little bars/cafes full of tasty pastries and cakes...yum! we met Ash and Jen for a quick drink before they headed off to 400 islands and watched the sunset over the Mekong, witnessed an outdoor excersise clads and wandered around the night market along the river front - deloghtful!

4.06.2013 & 5.06.2013 : Vang Veing

the day had finally come to sit in rubber tubes, get drunk and float down the scenic Mekong river! we got dropped off at the beginning of the route about 12.30 and floated 10minutes to the first bar! we were greeted by staff members throwing waterbottles attached to rope at us to drag us in! the bar was awesome...it was a loveky beer garden with loads of games ; beer pong, table tennis, volleyball, basketball with a fountain from the hoop and boules! loads of sun loungers so after a welcpme shot and vodka shake we played games and chilled out in the sun! about 3 we decided to mosey on down the river so hopped back in the tubes and floated about an hour downstream (unfortunately we wrre a bit early so missed the 2nd bar) but never mind...it was the most relaxing, fun experience...just needed a cocktail in hand! we had a drink at the last bar...and a tasty snavk of fried bugs with chilli before dinner, a few episodes of Friends and a chill before gettinb om the beer Lao again at JD's bar!  this was really fun...bumped into a lot of ppl we met in Luang Prabang so partied on until 12.30 when we moved onto the local Laos nughtclub..Mppn Bar! loads of fun, good music and lots of lady boys haha didnt make it to bed until 3am so the next day was a chill and food/uploading photos day...luckily we didnt feel too bad as the monsoon had set in for the most of the day! 

04.06.2013: Luang Prabang - Vang Veing

up at 5.30 to watch the monk alms...very fascinating - the monks gp around the village collectinh food offerings from some of the locals ...mainly consisting or sticky roce - and i think this os all the food they eat all day!  after a skightly slow start...rhe driver trying to sqeeze 12 of us into a 10 seater car we were on our way to Vang Veing. absoluteky stunninh scenery for the qhole joruney, felt like we were in the Alps...very surreal! we sropped for lunch very high in the mountains so had an amazing panaramic view over the vallwy...even the toilet had a view!  haha we arrived into Vang Veing abiut 4pm, just in time for the heavens to open! we checked into a rather luxouroous room iat Central Backpackers - myself, Jess and Tim shared a very spacious, clean room!  A quick walk around the town, dinner and bed early so we were ready for tubinh the next day! 

02.06.2013 : Day 34 : Luang Prubang

we tried to be cultural today and took a boat across the Mekong to a village called Ban Cha - a pottery village that specialises in pots and roof tiles! a few of us had a go at making a pot which was a lot harder than it looked! we also saw the underground kiln they cook the pottery in - very interesting.  we then walked across a very weak looking bambo bridge to see some of the other villages but as it was the midday sun qe didnt make it very far and decoded to take a break for lunch at a scandinavian bakery!  the villages here werrnt quite as authentic or interesting as the indian/thai ones... We had a trafitional Laos bbq for dinner...wss rather interesting ...we were presented wit a basket of raw veg /noodles , an egg, a plate of raw eat and a bbq/grill thing in temiddle of the table!so it was a do it yourself ob but wad surprisingly tasty :) 

1.06.2013 : Day 33 : Luang Prubang

we all piled into a tuk tuk after brrakie and wemt an hour out of town to the Kuang Si waterfall! it was gorgeous - a massove waterfall made up of various turquoise pools two of whoch you could swim in! there was a rope to swing into thw qater and you could jump off the small waterfalls...slightly dangerous but fun! although we envisaged a nice qrea tp sunbathe in and chill for the daybut this wasmt quite the case...obviosly!! i am learnig nevrr to assume anything in Asia haha we walked to the top to see a vry impressive, massive waterfall - it was so high! after a few tourost pics we headed back to the hostel for a nap before dinner - headed to thw river for a scenic Laos meal of veg and sticky rice..wasnt the most tasty but a bit different!!  qe ditched the boys and headed to thw night market for a spot of shopping!

31.05.2013 : Day 32 : Luang Prubang

aftwr a nice lie in and comfy bedmyself, jess, Dee and Tim walked around the amall town. it really reminded me of a slughtly older Thailand...small town but not too quiet - not too touristy but with restaurants lining the banks of the Mekong. you cpuld see the French influence around thw town in the architecture and little details outside th cafe . by lunch time we were ready for a little break and as in true eurpoean style we had a cake and fruit shake! yum! we then walked around the TAEC - Arts and Curltural Museum and learnt about all thw differemt Laos tribes, dress and marriage rules...very interesting and not as strict as thw Indians but still lots of traditions!after a beautiful sunset  and view at the top of a hill in the center of town...(352 steps!!)  we all met up for dinner in the evenimg and went to the local street food market...a whole array of differemt dishses, meata and even a pigs head and trotters on offer! due to my various tummy bugs i opted for a freshly made papaya salad made infront of me ( i could taste thw dressing so it was to my taste!) and fresh spring rolls. we then went for a few bevvies  at Utopia - a cute bar slightly off the main strip - quite hippy qith low tables and cushions rp sit on, chilled with good music and a gopd atmosphere. a little tourist trap and in the tpilwts met a girl called Gen who was travelling with her bf, Ash - both from the UK and it was her birthday eve so i invited thwm to join us!  when the bar closed at 11.30 we all headed to thw bowling alley...and it was an actual bowling alley slightly put of town whoch manages to dodge the 11.30 curfew so we played until 2am! so fun but random haha

30.05.2013 : Laos : Pak Bang - Luang Prubang

back on the boat again today!  although we had a slight upgrade of a bigger boat with tables! i sat opposite Rennie and Sylvio next to an Aussie guy called Peter. he qas kn his late 50s and was spendinf 6months cycling through SE ASIA and Indonesia!! its his second time and has cycled through Europe twice! made me feel like a lazy bum...maybe a plan for the bucket list...?!? we arrived into the Luang Prubang port at 5pm which was kimda random as in typical SE Asia stlye none of the 'crew' announced we had arrived - word just spread through tthe backpackers so we all got off slight confused and walked up a hill to the ruk tuk statipn where they charge a crazy amount to get into town ha...always one step ahead!! we all shared a taxi to the hostel i had booked. Khammany Inn and weryone checkd in to the 14bed dorm. we went for a wander around the night markets before heading for a Laos dinner at Lao Lao gardens and a drink and a game of cards at Hive Bar! but it was bed earlybird as all thebars shut at 11.30 and you arent supposed to be on thw streets after then either...rule is applyed mpre to the Laos ppl than tourists!!