Lah gorn to Laos PDR

Well hello again!
It's time to say goodbye to the People's Democratic Republic of Laos. It will be a sad farewell, but then again it will be good to get out of Vientiane as there's not really much to do here. Luang Prabang was certainly the nicest place in this country and I will definitely return one day. Probably not to Vientiane, although the guesthouse I've just been staying in was like a 4-star hotel for just $14 - even included breakfast. I've been spoiled before Vietnam and that's probably not a good thing...
So what were the highlights of Laos for me? Well, Luang Prabang obviously and particularly my day with the monks. Enlightening as it was. ;)
The first pic on this posting is of sunrise at one of the temples in Luang Prabang (during my 'Monk Watch' day). The second is of the impressive limestone cliffs of Viang Vieng (as is the third pic). That was about the only impressive thing about that place. A few too many English-style bars - although it was nice to enjoy a bit of escapism watch old episodes of 'Friends' (which is common in many bars there and would probably drive you insane if you stayed there any longer than 3 days!) while updating my journal.
I also made another monk friend there called Tau - see photo of him with his bike. Monks are only allowed bikes in that town because some live outside and it's difficult for them to get to school. You learn something new every day. :)
The bus journeys were fun - thank God for iPods!
And then there's the capital, Vientiane. There were some nice museums here such as Wat Sisaket (photo of me with lots of Buddha statues) which had many French influences (especially in the architecture and the ceilings - reminiscent of ceilings in chateaux in the Laoire Valley! I was happy.), and also the mini Arc de Triomphe (see next posting, although looked little like the one in Paris), as well as Wat That Luang (large golden stupa in next posting), Buddha Park (see shot of Buddha with giant grasshopper!!??) and its myriad of bizzare Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, and also my other new monk friend Yoth (final shot on next posting). I'm picking them up like dust on my feet!
I met him at Buddha Park. He said hello and asked me the usual questions. Then he was on our bus back to the city and he asked if I had some free time if I'd help him with his English so I thought why not. There's not much else to do here (although the TV in my hotel was showing Alias season 5 and also LOST and CSI - hmm, dilemma). So I visited him yesterday at his wat and spent a couple of hours helping him with a report he had to do. It serves as good practise for when I sign up for a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course. It was interesting, although I got a little worried when a queue of his friends started forming... they soon disappeared when they realised I'd be helping Yoth for a while.
I think maybe they like me because I wander off taking photos and I'm a female on my own so they don't feel threatened and can talk to me. It's great: I have 4 monks' email addresses now! Now there's a souvenir I never thought I'd get.
The best thing about here has been the guesthouses - undoubtedly some of the nicest I've stayed in in SEA. And there we were thinking we'd really be roughing it in Laos! ;)
So this afternoon we bid farewell to the place and fly to Vietnam. So by 7pm our time we'll be in Hanoi. Looking forward to that. Although I've heard nasty stories of what you can buy food-wise on the streets - such as slaying monkeys in front of you and taking out their inards to cook... hmmm. This is the point where I turn vegetarian methinks. ;)
So wish us luck on our flight. We're flying with Vietnam Airlines (they had a better safety record than Laos Air). Till next time.
Ciao for now. x