OK so 1st day in Vientiane was yesterday - we caught up on some sleep after our flight from BKK. First class was exceptional - how we wish we could afford those tickets all the time. We may well go on another Thai flight and the extra few quid was definitely well spent as we avoided all the queues, got served champagne (at 8.30am!), got breakfast, and even a free (well, erm, stolen) pen.

The airport isn't a million miles from the centre of Vientiane and we were picked up by our hotel which is always a bonus. The hotel was basically used by VIPs (that includes us then eh?) from the mid to late 70s (d'oh) and is austere but charming in a kind of slightly decaying sort of way. We've got an ensuite, a balcony, a bath and a telly (on which, rather frustratingly, the picture on the English sport/news channel is frozen - Greg Norman has, to date, taken over 14 hours to line up a 70 yard pitch and run...) and also hot running water. Can't quite figure the air-con though as it seems to have a mind of it's own.

Last night we stumbled upon a French restaurant, and feeling in the need for some really good grub we decided to splurge out. We had a starter each, a wonderful main (Jen said her rack of lamb in garlic sauce was one of the best things she had ever had in a restaurant), and shared profiteroles for pudding. It was devine. We also had a bottle of French wine too which was really nice despite costing more than all the food put together! We then went back to the hotel where we took over an hour to play one frame of snooker (you should see the size of the pockets, they're tiny, and as for the cues...) and because of excessive fouling on both sides the final score was something like 103-95 which must be nearly a record. I won, so I am sure to be challenged to a rematch tonight.

Today we went to see most of the sights of Vientiane - you're guessed it, more temples. To be fair these were different to other temples in that the stucco and buddha images where different, and also there was a real emphasis on wooden structures and lavish entrances. The most impressive were 'Buddha Park' which is an eclectic mix of both Hindu and Buddha images with the most weird but fascinating being a 40 foot tall pumpkin-like structure you can ascend (from within). It has three levls and a roof from which you can view the rest of the park. The 3 levels depict earth, heaven, and hell and were a bit spooky given they were enclosed inside the structure and thus you could only see the figures inside them by using a torch/camera flash. The other monument that stood out is the Pha That Luang - Great Sacred Stupa. It is a national symbol in Laos, and surely the only way to do it justice is to upload the piccies which we will due soon (hopefully). To briefly describe it though, it is basically about 70m square and is gold from top to bottom. It really is impressive.

We have decided that a couple of nights in Vientiane is probably enough so we're venturing north tomorrow - to Vang Vieng, which is en route to the northern capital - Luang Prabang. In VV we are really looking forward to the inner tubing, which is, not a medical operation, but, floating 8km down the Nam Song river on an inner tube. The locals pull you in every km or so for a drink at the bars that line the river. Sounds wonderful and we have heard so many other people go on about it, so we're really looking forward to it.