Well here we are in Laos (it does have the internet after all (yay) and running water, electricicty, hell we even found a jar of marmite in the shops last night). How would we describe our first impressions of Laos and the capital Vientiane. Well for a start it is only separated from Thailand by a river so you'd probably think that the Thai influence would be there for all to see, and I guess it is...although everthing is just that bit different. For example, the tuk-tuks are still 3 wheel but are bigger in the back and you can get 6 people in - they're called jumbo's. The mossies are 55 times the size and there are about 2 million more (they're more like mini-bats really). The beer is smoother and has lower alcohol content. The people smile and they mean it. Yup first impressions are great.

Although we have the internet it's like wading through treacle in wellies (not sticky but very slow) so we might take a while to reply to the emails (we had 10 in our inbox this morning). It's good to know that you're all well though and that there is some very interesting gossip (thanks Snowy!!) that I am thinking about publishing as I didn't like either party it involved...let's just say it involves 2 consultants at Michael Page (neither of whom I particularly liked) who are doing things they shouldn't...

In other news I have been phoned at around midnight the last 3 nights (from a Thai number) and then the other person has hung up - I have tried ringing them back but they don't speak English - bizarre. We can't register with any Laos phone companies (we're roaming on the Thai band still) so we'll lose reception for a few days starting tomorrow. The plan currently is to take the trip up to Vang Vieng and then up to Luang Probang before coming back south and visiting Savanaket before venturing into Vietnam.