Crossing the border was a unique experience. After visiting the small building to stamp out of Thailand you board a long boat and cross the giant Mekong river to Huay Xai where you enter another small building to fill out all the necessaries. The men working in there were crazy, three of them all wanting to get your cash as quickly as possible before they even stamped or took your forms, which caused some confusion with who had paid and who hadn't leading to Julie and another in our group getting their visas stamped and canceled, before getting it restamped.

Laos is the most bombed country in the history of warfare - during the Vietnam conflict. It had the equivalent of one bomb dropped on it every 8 minutes for 9 years. Crazy, and land mines is also still a huge issue.

We stayed in Huay Xai for the night where in the evening we got to cook our own food in a local restaurant, where we were the only westerners. It was all one price and you got to choose your own fish, meats, noodles, salads and vegetables before taking it back to your table to cook on a small stove. This was an interesting contraption. It was metal and circular, the centre was half mooned shaped with small slits letting in the heat, the meat and fish was placed on here to cook. This was surrounded by a moat of hot water, where the noodles and vegetables cooked. The coals were underneath. We were all a bit worried about how hygienic it all was but it was very tasty and fortunately no-one got ill.

The next day we got onto a giant 30 metre long barge for our two day trip to Luang Prabang. The boat was owned by a man and his wife who live on it with their daughter. The first 20 metres were for the passengers, in this case just our tour group of 8 and our 2 guides, the rest was their private living quarters. We passed our time by playing cards, reading books and watching the countryside. Lush forested hills would give way to sandy flatlands and rocky outcrops, with small villages and stilted huts occasionally coming into view. It was quite misty both from the foggy weather and the locals burning off the fields, adding a sort of mystique atmosphere, like Martin Sheen on the boat in Apocalypse Now.

After the first day on the Mekong river we stopped in Pakbeng overnight, a small village about half way to our destination. The most interesting thing about the town was the market, which sold fantastic fresh vegetables, as well as buffalo hoof and rats. We had two stops on the river the next day, one at a village and one at the Pak Ou caves. At the village we were given a tour by our local guide. It was very rural and basic. The houses sat on stilts, women ground rice and wove textiles, there were lots of children and dogs playing, and loads of chickens and piglets hid from the sun under the buildings. It was interesting to see how they lived. Julie and I gave the chief some clothes and trainers we no longer needed to distribute to his flock. The Pak Ou caves sat about an hour north of Luang Prabang and are two sacred caverns filled with over 4,000 Buddha images that people have brought from the past 300 years. The locals believe the caves to house guardian spirits, many years ago monks used to live inside, it is a quirky place but we were glad we stopped on the way as it probably isn't worth a specific day trip from Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is unsuspecting, having experienced very little infrastructure so far in Laos, this small UNESCO World Heritage city is splendid with bags of character. Shimmering temples and fading facades, lots of market stalls immaculately laid out and the friendliest people ever, all giving you the Laos hello "Sabaai dii" each time you walk past. It has a laid back feel during the day and at night trendy bars and coffee shops come alive along, along with a pretty lantern lit night market selling some excellent fabrics, textiles, clothing, lanterns, handicrafts and lots of food. You can buy a huge bowl of Koi Soi, a noodle soup filled with vegetable, herbs and your choice of meat for the equivalent of 60p or a huge piece of grilled chicken for just 80p.

We did a days trekking to a nearby waterfall, which was spectacular and close by is the Laos Bear Rescue Centre, where we learned about how these bears had been confiscated from poachers and traffickers. It is interesting stuff, for more information visit www.bearlao.com.

Laos is very quiet compared to Thailand and the people slightly whiter with flatter faces, and they are super friendly. Next we head south to Vientiane on a Laos Airways flight, which has an horrendous safety record, wish us luck...