Christmas week I believe

21st December 2025

At last - some sunshine today. It's been so cold and grey for the past couple of weeks. I know it's relative and that 15 degrees at night and 25 by mid-afternoon doesn't sound cold, but with limited clothing and no heating and a north-facing house that doesn't get any sun at this time of year I for one just can't wait for it to be over. We remember when we first came to SE Asia we chose to go to Kep in Cambodia for December because of the weather. Perhaps next year we'll consider going south. 

This month has also been somewhat taken up by keeping in touch with Trevann's brother Chris while he fights pneumonia and lymphoma in hospital in Hull. Time will tell on that situation.

Over here Lao PDR celebrated its 50th anniversary in style with amazing parades and fireworks and drone shows in Vientiane. We had flag-lined streets and National Day holiday here in LPb but no fireworks.

Now this week we have not only the solstice and Christmas but also Hmong New Year, an important and colourful date in the annual calendar.

Thong made us a gate to keep the dogs and chickens out. The dogs had started to be a real pain, three of them running around the garden barking at 5:30am. No more!

We harvested our banana crop

Office assistant

Green garden

Curiously, we have never met our new neighbour Jonathan who moved into the house above ours in September! His front gate is the other side of the hill.

Anita's birthday at the Fat Cat was fun and we left before the bottle of Tequila was opened and everything got a bit messy!

A Japanese NGO funded pedestrianisation of the main street with pot plants, green electric buses and barriers - but only for one week!

My birthday treat was a visit to the Elephant Village about 10km away.We had never been to see the elephants before. There are 3 or 4 different sanctuaries around Luang Prabang. No riding these days and plenty of emphasis on welfare, which is good.

 

This place has three adult elephants rescued from the logging industry and two babies.

They are quite extraordinary creatures - and always eating

It was a privilege to be able to get so close.

Part of the Elephant Village visit package was a trip on this boat along the river to a waterfall.

The banks are all planted up with bananas, corn, green beans and peanuts.

This little boy amused himself by jumping in the river with a big splash while his dad was busy fishing. Dad was not amused!

Sadly the waterfall site (Tad Sae), which used to be a beautiful natural and wild spot, has recently been bought by a Chinese company who are developing it with accommodation, cafe, access bridge for buses etc. We had to trudge through a muddy construction site to reach the waterfall 

Tad Sae - it is beautiful with water cascading over the rocks into turquoise pools. A bit too cold for swimming this day

Our tour guide Joy shows us edible flowers picked from beside the path.

A big lunch was included in the deal.

And in the evening I got my traditional annual birthday Mai Tai.

We bought a large wok to act as a firepit in the garden. It works well and can keep us warm in chilly evenings! There's a woman in the local market who cuts and sells some kind of resinous wood that burns really easily. Natural firelighter

Trevann's had several chances to play with other travelling musicians recently. We were in our friend Simon's restaurant when three Chinese guys picked up the guitars and started playing the most wonderful bluegrass/Americana tunes. What a surprise! Trevann and German Marco joined in. 

When we picked up our annual visas we obviously didn't check our work permits carefully. Only noticed yesterday that Trevann's photo is not Trevann! All falang look alike to Laotians!

Another night, another gig. Americans Brett and Steve and others at La Cantina

Hmong youngsters with their costumes on their way to their New Year Festival on the edge of town. It's a joyous and colourful traditional occasion where they will matchmaking by throwing tennis balls at each other

Poor old Nam Khan looking a shadow of its previous self. This "development" seems to have been going on forever

Tai Lue dreamcatchers - and blue sky! Hooray

Today we walked through the brand new park that has been created around the tip of the peninsula, replacing natural riverbanks with concrete paths and bollards. Oh well, I suppose the alternative would've been to allow the riverbanks to erode until the town fell into the water.

Hmong maiden in the wrong place to find a suitor

National Day decorations