Sam N Em Do The World 6th February - Laos

How are you all? I’ve just spent a few days with dysentery attack number four ... when will it end? It’s very hot in Laos and humid, more so than when we were in Thailand I think. Vientianne is the most subdued capital I have ever experienced, which makes a change. There are so many dilapidated colonial French buildings here ... I'd love to get my hands on them and do them up (says the girl who once glossed over wallpaper!).

Communism and Buddhism seem to go hand in hand in Laos. The people are very friendly and laid-back, which is refreshing indeed. We did visit the National Revolutionary Museum last week, which was an interesting mix of prehistoric artefacts, such as standing stones and huge jars from the Plain of Jars, and a floor dedicated to the uprising during and after the horrific Vietnam war. Laos has suffered more bombing than any country in history.

In Vang Vieng we visited the Sleeping Cave where 2,500 hilltribe refugees hid for 3 months or more to escape the bombing. Apart from the rising water within the cave, the only thing that protected them from the Americans was a giant electric eel (cave dragon, according to locals) which electrocuted an invading American soldier. Anyway, I feel tired now, so I'll disappear from your screens.

Happy wanderings

Sam