Sabaidee (hello) Luang Prabang

Every time we return to Luang Prabang (this is our fifth visit) I fear that it will have changed, lost its charm, been spoilt or overrun by avaricious businesses created to extract dollars from hapless tourists. Every time I am relieved to find that the town has such resilience. It's not completely unchanged from how it was 5 years ago but its essence remains.
I think it's something to do with the way the city manages to combine traditional Lao family life with hosting international visitors. Households still live in their simple roadside houses, elders and children gathering in the late afternoon to cook the evening meal over an open fire while the gentle temple drumbeats and bells call the monks to prayer.
What a fabulous town. I love it!

The left-hand side is our garden. Someone has built a house next door but it's currently unoccupied.

Our pad - the Greenhouse Studio.

Rainy season flooding caused by a new dam upstream led to some serious damage along the Nam Khan in August.

The Greenhouse from the garden.

Our private terrace

We enjoy a cold beer overlooking the Mekong at sunset as the slowboats come in to land.

"Our" road.

The local temple.

The ever-present Thorani.

The centre of Luang Prabang as viewed from our garden. So green!

Lakon (goodbye) Vang Vieng

Just a few more Vang Vieng pix before we head up over the mountains to Luang Prabang. Two weeks in VV was just about enough for us. We had a good time but it's just too noisy now for us peaceniks.

Fab view from the bungalow we moved to for our second week.

These shipping containers are being converted into some kind of accommodation. We wondered whether they would be thatched and turned into "bungalows" for tourists!

It amazes me that the egg man keeps his stock safe on the road.

More juxtapositions

It is very pretty though.

Our lovely friend Nouth with her uncle. What a star!

The road to Luang Prabang winds through some pretty spectacular scenery but it's difficult to capture through the mini-van windows.

Vang Vieng - the temperature rises

We're always sad to say goodbye to Michael, Shrena and Dara at Bacoma. But I'm sure we will return. And here we are now back in lovely Lao PDR, warmly welcomed by the wonderful Nouth at Lao Valhalla bungalows.
I fear that Vang Vieng may be gradually reverting to it's "party-town" status but there are still fabulous views, peaceful walks across the rice fields and pretty lights on the river to enjoy.

Thank you to Bacoma cake!

One of our brave protectors - the mighty Ben!

I get to be quite fond of the dogs here. They're very friendly.

Sadly my pool skills never improve. I still got beaten 3-0 in the grand league.

Lots of birds in the garden.

The lovely Nani and her grannie from the Seagull bar.

On to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. An odd mix of high-rise buildings and tumbledown French colonial architecture. There was a brand new Bentley parked in our road!

Got to Vang Vieng in one piece. It's a 3-hour bus ride from Vientiane but takes at least 5 hours after all the stops and starts.

The cows come home along our road every evening.

I also photographed this amazing spider last year. I was happy to find that it's still here outside our bungalow.

Trevann studying the garden.

Vang Vieng's main claim to fame - the Nam Song river.

It is very beautiful.

Limestone karst mountains rise vertically from the rice paddies.

At night the riverside bars light up and the music starts.

This is Nouth's back garden. At the end of the wood is a cliff pockmarked with caves from which thousands of bats issue forth at dusk. 

Another view of the valley.

It's lovely to walk across the rice fields in the sunshine.

Little shelters here and there for the farmers.

Nouth's friend Deena comes round to show us all traditional Lao dancing. She then does a giggly "magic" show, liberally lubricated with plenty of lao lao rice whisky, complete with scorpion or snake or centipede flavouring. Lots of fun. 

Bacoma - second to none

Our last few days in Kep and it's worth mentioning that if you are ever passing this way Bacoma is the place to stay. It's a great guesthouse - comfortable, friendly with good food. Michael and his team make sure everyone feels welcomed and cared for.
This week we've been catching up with some great movies in the thatched cinema. (In a previous life Michael ran an arthouse cinema in Switzerland.) I thought "Embrace of the Serpent" was wonderful. Also "Whiplash" and "Trolls"! Now we're back to premiership football coverage at the weekend if there's demand.

This is the cinema during the daytime. At night it is transformed into a cozy space with big screen for requested movies or football (decided democratically of course).

Spock - top dog at Bacoma. Takes his duties seriously and accompanies us to the Crab Market every day, trotting on ahead to check for hidden dangers... or rival dogs. 

Lots of birds in the garden here - this tailor bird is particularly vocal. Also mynah birds, bulbuls, shrikes, hoopoes, sunbirds...

This is a gliding lizard doing a good impression of a twig. He also displayed his dramatic yellow throat flag but not when I had a camera pointed at him!

Beautiful flowers

Hoopoe

Path leading up to Bacoma

Near by is the Crab Market with a small fishing fleet. Sadly, the crab fishery has been over-fished in recent years and bottom-trawling is destroying the sea grass nursery beds offshore. We didn't order crab to eat.

It's so beautiful at sunset, looking out towards Thailand.

New Year on the beach at Kep is a blast! Local families and tourists gather for totally wild fireworks and dancing.

I can't bring myself to criticise the Chinese lanterns here. I know they sometimes cause problems for wildlife but they are a part of Khmer culture - sending good luck soaring up into the night sky.

Trevann doing his Harry Potter impression. Or is it Sooty?

A few days later we shared a bottle or wine and a meal with "The Geordies", Andrew and Victoria, also long-stay guests at Bacoma. 

Two new kittens were rescued from an uncertain future at a local guesthouse last week. All skin and bone when they arrived, Andy and Vicky have settled in well.