Hello again to everyone!
 
Having spent two and a half weeks in Vietnam, our time in Laos was slightly shorter than we had hoped but was full of amazing experiences. We arrived in the capital Vientiane which is probably the smallest and quietest capital city I have ever visited! It had a really friendly feel though and we spent the first evening with a walk along the river, a visit to a great night market, with lots of arts and crafts, and a tasty meal out. The riverside area was busy with lots of locals out jogging or on their bikes and outdoor aerobics classes taking place.

The following day we climbed to the top of a huge war memorial archway called the Patuxai. From here we had incredible views of the city for miles around.

In the afternoon, we had a long, bumpy tuk tuk ride to 'buddah park' which was about an hour out of town. The park was full of huge stone buddhas and other statues, some of which were up to 20 metres long! We had a funny tuk tuk ride home being followed by a herd of huge buffalo!

Our next stop was Luang Prabang which is north of the capital. We had the most amazing drive there through tiny villages, along windy mountain roads with the sun setting in the distance. When it had got dark we stopped for a quick break to stretch our legs. As we climbed out of the mini bus, we noticed the stars - with no light pollution around, they were incredibly bright and very impressive!
 
We spent our days in Luang Prabang relaxing by the river and exploring the town's streets by bike. One day we decided to go on a kayaking trip which was a full day kayaking down the Khan river. Although it was tiring and extremely hot, we had fantastic views of the mountains, sneaky peeks at riverside villages and had fun kayaking down the rapids in the water. A few of the boats capsized on the rapids but thankfully Rachel and I managed to stay upright! 
 
The following day we were lucky enough to have the chance to spend a day at an elephant sanctuary where they have rescued elephants from their former 'jobs' logging trees in the forests. We learnt to command the elephants like the mahouts (these are the men that usually ride and 'steer' the elephants), trekked through the forest and river and, finally, had a chance to wash the elephants in the river. It was an amazing day and an unforgettable experience!

We also spent a day trekking in the forest and climbing to the top of a huge waterfall which had spectacular views of the lagoons below. Our guide taught Rachel and I some phrases in Lao which was fun and told us lots about the plants and trees we saw along the way. He showed us one flower which you could bite the bottom off and suck out the nectar. We gave it a go - it tasted very sweet, quite like honey.

On our final day we set our alarms for 5 a.m. to see the people of Luang Prabang give alms to the monks. Each day the local people wake up early and cook for the monks. Hundreds of monks in their orange robes line up ready to accept offerings of rice and fruit. They, in turn, give some of their food to local people who are in need of food. It was lovely to be part of the traditional ceremony.

I found Laos to be an incredibly peaceful and calm place and would love to return one day to explore more of the country. We were both quite sad to leave but excited to see what Australia had in store!

I hope all is going well at school. Year 4, I was having a look at the photos from your production - it looks great! I hope you all had fun doing it!