My cabin on the boat was small, 6'x6' without the 3'x4' bathroom, but all I needed. I spent all my time on the deck even though I had a corner cabin with windows on two sides, you talk about spectacular views. I was able to see the Milky Way and at least a dozen falling stars.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam is the most remarkable places I've been so far. In 1997 it was decided by UNESCO to become an international historic site and is therefore highly protected. Prior to '97 it was fair game to anyone to do whatever.

The sails on the Junks are stricly for show, they are far to small to move these large boats. The tide is extreme, about 6 feet on regular tides and up to 15 on full moons.

The boat races in Luang Prabang are to celebrate the religious spirit that is thought to reside at the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. Each of the 25 boating teams leave an offering of food, flowers or money at the junction before the races begin. I don't know what they get if they win but they are very earnest in their pursuit of the finish line. The offering may be to escape drowning when your boat sinks. The event is celebrated by what looks like the entire country of Laos, it was so crowded, but it is only a local event. It does draw crowds from Thailand, since the event is celebrated for a week with triple the amount of street stalls. The Thais, being a very resourceful lot, can't resist getting in on anything where they can sell their wares.

Most of the side streets in Luang Prabang were brick, this one is the street where my guesthouse was and the Mekong River is at the far end.

Near Luang Prabang, Laos are the waterfalls called Euang Si. The falls come from a limestone maountain. The rocks and trees that are in the water have stalagtite like deposits on them which I would assmue are limestone. I found out first ahnd that the water is very cold but quite refreshing on a hot day

Our toilet stop was near a village and we were provided with entertainment from the local kids. They did backflips and sommersaults into the river. They stopped as soon as we started boarding the boat to continue our trip down river, it was done for our benefit. Our send off was heartwarming with all the smiles and hand waving. The kids have an innocence here I wish we had in the states. They haven't been tainted by overexposure to mature information at a young age. They get a chance to be kids.

A toilet stop was needed at the 2 hour mark. The facilities were very leafy, but my arse appreciated the break. We passed several villages on the way, only a few of which had electricity. This area is very remote and unpopulated. Loas has the smallest population of all the countries in SE Asia.