"Nothing so liberalises a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kind of people," so said American writer Mark Twain. And 'tis true, as the tales inside these pages testify - friendly natives in a foreign land do leave an indelible mark in the heart.
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Work! Work! Work! It seems like that's all we've done for the past 6 weeks!
What happened to all that travel?
Get me out of here!
My bags are packed,
and I'm ready to go.
Tomorrow we'll be "home".
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posted by Wayne and Judie's Adventures from Singapore @ 5:12 PM
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Click on photos to enlarge.
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What an interesting week!
On Good Friday we flew from Singapore to Bangkok, and then to Vientiane the capital city of Laos. Our hotel here had a lovely courtyard garden, and the room cost $16 per night including breakfast.
We spent the day walking around town. 
What shall we buy?
Roots? Bark? Animal parts?
Watch where you walk!
And be careful what you eat!
We then flew to Phonsavan.
This has to be the only airport in today's world without security checks of any kind.
Luckily, our bags arrived safely!
It was in this area that almost every town and village was bombed between 1964 and 1973, yet today the locals give tourists a warm welcome. 
War scrap can be found all over, often decorating restaurants or guesthouses like where we stayed. Price for a room here was $20 per night, and breakfast cost about $2 for coffee, omlette, baguette, and a fruit plate.
The streets were wide and lined with concrete shophouses,
as well as cows.
The town was surrounded by mountains, and across from our guesthouse was a local fishing pond.
Our hotel room also overlooked a fish farm.
Just down the road, we watched them working in the rice paddies.
Could this be why we saw so much fish and rice on the menus?
Stores and shopping malls as we know them are non existent here,
but the markets were fascinating!
Here come the vendors.
Chickens anyone?
Or how about some pigs?
Like most visitors, our main reason for coming to this area was to see the Plain of Jars. We visited three different sites where jars of unknown origin were scattered about. While our tour guide had some interesting stories as to the mysteries of these jars, we took dozens of photos all looking identical.
The Buddha tree!
Is everyone still listening to the tour guide?
Enough jars for one day!
During our walk through the Plain of Jars, we were very aware of staying between the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) markers. 
(Click to enlarge and read this sign.)
It was between 1964 and 1973 that the USA conducted one of the largest sustained aerial bombardments in history, flying 580,344 missions over Laos and dropping 2 million tons of bombs, costing US$2.2 million a day. Around 30% of the bombs dropped on Laos failed to detonate, leaving the country littered with unexploded ordnance. For people all over eastern Laos, living with this appalling legacy has become an intrinsic part of daily life. Since clearance began in 1994, only a tiny percentage of the quarter of a million pieces has been removed. At the current rate of clearance it will take more than 100 years to make the country safe.
The denuded hills and valleys pockmarked with bomb craters, where little or no vegetation grows, were obvious everywhere.
An abandoned Russian army tank still sits in a field.
From here, we went on to beautiful Luang Prabang. This was our favourite place in Laos (and possibly all of Asia to date). From the markets, to the Buddhist monks and temples, to the Mekong River surrounded by emerald green mountains, to the French colonial influence throughout, we found this town fascinating. Have a look!
Our guesthouse looks almost European, doesn't it?
Buddhist wat (or temples).
Luang Prabang's Buddha with hands raised and palms facing forward symbolizes 'no more war'.
Monks were seen everywhere throughout the town. But their morning alms collection is a sight we'll never forget. It was worth getting up at 6:00AM to see, and participate in, this daily Buddhist ritual.
Wayne participates in giving alms to the monks.
The monks also gave back to the poor.
A very moving experience!
One day we took a slow boat down the Mekong River to the Pak Ou caves.
At times, it almost reminded us of the BC mountains.
We stopped at a whiskey and textile village along the way.
Judie decides to buy a bracelet rather than the whiskey potions.
The caves were quite spectacular, and crammed with Buddha images.
This little boy was selling a bird. You are to buy it, make a wish, and when you set it free your wish will come true.
Sometimes it's hard to say "no".
Here's the local school back in town.
Some candid shots around Luang Prabang.
The markets were unbelievable! There were day markets and night markets daily. 
You could 'shop till you dropped' if you wanted to. But would you?
Maybe! Look at that fruit and those baguettes!
During our last few days there, the Laos New Year celebrations began. A crazy tradition of throwing water at people for good luck gradually raged out of control. The locals found it hilarious, tourists weren't always so amused (except the few who really got into it and then didn't seem to know when enough was enough).
Miss Luang Prabang!
Our final drinks of iced coffee and a beer cost us a total of $1.50. When will we see prices like that again?
And just as we are about to leave, the President of Laos arrived in Luang Prabang to join in the New Year celebrations.
This was a trip we will never forget!
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posted by Wayne and Judie's Adventures from Singapore @ 8:42 AM
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