Wat Si Saket in Vientiane. This temple contains over two thousand small Buddha (abouttwo inches tall) in hundreds of niches in the walls. Around 300 larger Buddha statues are seated in front. They are made from a variety of materials, and are fashioned in surprisingly diverse styles.

Old stupa, now the centre of a roundabout in Vientiane

Celebrating our arrival in Vang Vieng – Japanese crackers and a tasty cabernet sauvignon, purchased at Vientiane airport (and strangely, not consumed on the spot, but saved for a special occasion.  And yes, the end of a bus-trip in Laos is most definitely a special occasion).

Temples are everywhere in Laos, and especially so in Luang Prabang, which has 34. This temple has fairly typical architecture in terms of the shape of the roof and the decorative lattices.

Wat Chu Phat, on the outskirts of Luang Prabang.  This is just the gateway into the temple grounds, but it shows quite a different style of temple than most others we had seen.

Oh, so this is what is meant by monsoon season?  At the time I took this photo, we were sheltering in a shop front after having been soaked to the skin in 2 minutes flat while riding our bicycles.  As the storm approached us, I had boldly claimed that “a bit of rain won’t bother me”, but this was before the streets started to become rivers, and steps waterfalls.

Don’t mess with a woman holding a knife in one hand and a baton in the other (actually, it was a giant pestle). At a cooking course in Luang Prabang

Great spot for a snooze

What is it about riding bicycles that makes you feel like a kid again?  Tinkly bells help, but so does the breeze on your face.  All the bikes we used in Laos tended to have dodgy brakes, and helmets are not available, so I was always a fairly sedate rider, unlike Colin, whose attempt to jump the bike up over the curb (BMX style) made for a spectacular tumble.

The main street of Luang Prabang, at dawn.