We made a mistake. Google maps had said it would take four hours to get from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. Given that it was less than 400kms that made sense. This would be the last time we would trust google maps. The distance may be correct but what the pleasant little blue line from point A to point B on google maps didn't say was that the road was a twisty mountainous pass with more obstacles than an arcade game. God it was fun though! An unexpected treat. The clutch has a little squeak in it and it sounded like a dying pig as we endlessly changed between second and third. The obstacles where mostly animals. Cows and bulls are fairly easy to miss but the little baby chicks that scurry across the road at the last minute following mum are much harder to see and avoid. Plenty of pigs and the cutest little piglets too.

This is where we stopped for lunch. It is pretty typical of lunch on the road. Obviously the lonely planet doesn't recommend restaurants in obscure villages and no one speaks English so you are left with charades and your knowledge of the local language. Like most places it's not much more than a few chairs and tables attached to an annex made of corregated iron. This time we indicated we where hungry (why else would you have stopped there anyway) and our host said something in Lao to which we durly nodded. Of course we had no idea what was going to turn up for lunch but thankfully we aren't fussy eaters. Some fried rice with an egg turned up this time and it was tasty. Nice.

At the top of every mountain pass you are usually rewarded with something memorable and this was just spectacular. There is something very uplifting about views like this. It makes me feel like a child again and everything in the world seems possible.

As the sun set we knew we had to pull in for the night. Assuming the road continued as it had we still had four hours of driving to Luang Prabang and it would be very hard going after dark. The next thing we found that looked like a guest house was in a village too small to rate a mention on our map. The village had a nice little market going on and we bought some fruit for breakfast the following morning. The bananas and mangoes are all organic and delicious in this part of the world and should not be missed. The guest house only cost $7 a night but I am not sure that it was good value for money. The shower was cold water only in spite of the electric water heater and there wasn't anything we could do about the mosquitoes who came and went as they pleased through the holes that had been drilled into the wall for ventilation. Worst of all was the bed, which was covered entirely in synthetic sheets and had a matress that felt like a bag of springs. It was awful. About half past four in the morning I asked Julian if he was asleep. A rhetorical question given the level of comfort but it seemed polite to ask. We left that place at half past four in the morning and had the pleasure of a dawn drive.

Note especially the accomodation restrictions and guidelines that were plastered on the wall of our room. I particularly like the part were I have to leave my prostate outside so that I don't make any sex movies.

The morning drive was a treat. We passed through many little villages, watching the locals go about their morning routine. Seeing groups of them staring at a pot on a fire, waiting for their warm morning drink I guess. We managed to take a few photos.

We thought about stopping on the way for something resembling breakfast but the lonely planet said that our destination was full of little coffee shops and patisseries and the prospect of that had us driving on empty stomachs, ceaselessly heading for a hot coffee and a warm croissant. We arrived, checked in to the nicest hotel we had stayed in since leaving ($25!) and finally had our well deserved culinary delights :)