Another group song at Lucky

Ben, (sliver of Stella), Sabina (the third Scot), Emily, Palov, Heyman, Jeanine, Craig, Peter, Stephanie, and Clair.

Making a crowd at Lucky Music Room

Sahn Sahn auditioning for Fear Factor

Hors d'oeuvres anyone?

Deep-fried and with a tangy dipping sauce, these meal worms prove that Deep South cooking rule that everything tastes good deep-fried and dipped in ketchup.

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe

Giant lily patties

On the Scots' last night in Mae Sot, we went out to eat at Krau Mau Krau Fang, or the Rainforest Cafe in Mae Sot.

Clair, Stephanie, and Peter

Clair was another of the Scottish med students. Great fun, these girls were.

Peter, don't do it!

With too much grog on board, Peter brandishes his pride, and Clair laughs.

Ben, Stella, and Heyman

Back in Mae Sot! Back in Koon's! Stella is one of three Scottish medical students that showed up while I was in Chiang Mai.

Great Scots!

Three Scottish medical students showed up in Mae Sot while I was in Chiang Mai. They became very popular very quickly.

Rob at the Tala Sao bus station

This is where we caught a bus to Thailand.

Piles of baguettes

There were piles of baguettes for sale in the morning market (Tala Sao) in Vientiane. We saw baguettes for sale everywhere, as ubiquitous as noodle stands.

Wob and his wabbit

We had a nice French dinner on our last night in Laos.

The Presidential Palace

Patuxai, Victory Monument

This Arc d'Triomphe-like archway was never completed, but stands in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

Black stupa in Vientiane

This is the oldest stupa in Vientiane. It was supposed to have been gilded in gold once, but it was stripped of it by the Thais.

Catching up on "Friends"

Restaurants in Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is cluttered with restaurants with similar menus, similar raised decks with Thai cushions to lounge upon, and back-to-back episodes of Friends playing.

Rice patty field, Vang Vieng

Emily rode through cow pie

If that's not the look of satisfaction...

Watch yer speed, buddy!

Me and my manly bike and the manly basket

We hired some bikes to get around the area in Vang Vieng. These bad boys cost $1 a day.

Breakfast baguette in Laos

Blue water from the spring

This is where the blue spring water mixed with the brown river to make a nice shade of...?

Swimming in a spring

A nice spring flowed from the karst at Tham Jang. We swam in the cool waters during the afternoon heat. The current was quite strong, but we could swim up into the cave quite far. Locals came here to bath, but the water remained clean from the swift current.

Rice patty and mountains

View from the cave at Tham Jang

We hiked up some stairs to get to this viewpoint. There was a large cave inside too.

Stairway to Tham Jang

This stairway went up the karst to the cave.

Busy corner at Vang Vieng

Rob having a fag. At this corner, you can hear and see four identical restaurants playing different seasons of "Friends".

First night in Vang Vieng

Rob, Emily, and me lounging at a restaurant.

Karst surrounding Vang Vieng

Wierd karst mountain

I saw this on the journey from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng. This magical mountain was out someone's imagination and stood alone.

Beautiful day in Laos

The bus ride from Luang Prabang down Highway 13 goes through the mountains.

On the bus to Vang Vieng

Surprisingly, the buses in Laos were nice, but the roads were riddled with potholes, which made travel times long.

Wads of dough

The Lao currency is the kip. One US dollar is worth about 10,800 kip, making their largest bill (20,000 kip) worth about $2. In Laos, we saw people walking around small grocery bags filled with neat rubber-banded stacks of money.

Temple at the Royal Palace

Reclining Buddha

This was on a hill overlooking Luang Prabang.

Across the Mekong

From the same hill, looking across the Mekong.

Looking down the Mekong

There is a hill in the center of Luang Prabang where there is a temple and this great view.

Hill in Luang Prabang

This was taken from the front steps of the Royal Palace Museum in Luang Prabang.

Monks strolling in Luang Prabang

Monks can be seen strolling around Thailand and Laos perusing mobile phones in malls and sipping frappaccinos.

Dinner in Luang Prabang

Emily, Rob, and Roland dining on fabulous Lao salad, wild boar, noodle soup, pasta, and beef "laap" (minced meat) -- absolutely delicious. It was all washed down with some Beer Lao (the best in SE Asia) and Lao red wine.

Night market in Luang Prabang

There wasn't a lot of stuff for sale at the night market. There were some t-shirts, but a lot of handmade cushions and clothing.

Arrival in Luang Prabang

Emily, me, and Roland, a Dutch dude we met on the boat.

A temple nestled in a cave along the Mekong

Karsts along the Mekong

The views on the second day along the Mekong was very different from the first day. The sky cleared up, and limestone karsts rose from the earth.

Swimming kids along the Mekong

A bunch of naked village kids were screaming and laughing along the banks of the Mekong. As we floated past them, they all jumped in the water.

Small world

I noticed two familiar faces getting on the boat heading in the opposite direction in Pak Beng on our second day on the Mekong. Hanna and Caroline were a couple of British friends from Mae Sot. They had left Mae Sot over a month ago, travelling to the beaches of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

Daytime view of Pak Beng

Looking out my bedroom window, this was the early morning in Pak Beng. The streets became lively and noisy at daybreak in this small village.

Candlepower in Pak Beng

This was the view across the street from the restaurant we ate at in Pak Beng. Electricity here was provided by noisy generators, so many places used candles for lighting. Power shut off before 10 pm at night in Pak Beng.