Luang Luang time ago....

So what are my views on a town regarded as so significant that UNESCO have made the entire city a World Heritage Site...

Well I have to say the first thing that I noticed was the change of pace. Laos seems much more laid back than Thailand and everything is taken at a slower pace. The city contained a lot of temples - as you would expect in a Buddhist country, but they seemed different to the Thai temples in a way I'm not quite sure.

I also had a first in south east Asia here - I found a market I could wander round, browse extensively and not be harassed. The result of which was spending more money here than I have anywhere else. Goddamn (or should that be Buddha-damn) reverse psychology....

A short way outside the town was a waterfall , which takes over hands down as the second best waterfall I've ever seen. At the bottom were several pools which you could swim in with a rope swing and lots of jumping off points. This seemed fun, but caused injuries to several people - a warning for what was to come later.....

One problem with the laid back nature of the country is that the long and winding roads to Vang Vieng suffer (or are preserved by) a 30km/h speed limit, making it much slower to get from point A to point B. 8 hours to cover 200km is slow by anyone's standards. Especially when a marathon runner would have been able to keep up with the bus. But the fact that we were often passed by geriatrics on bikes did let me see some of the most breath-taking views I've ever encountered (some photos, taken from leaning out of the minibus window, will follow)