Laos

Back in 1998 we flew up to the Golden Triangle in northern Thailand and crossed the Mekong into Laos at Huay Xai from where we picked up a boat and spent two days travelling down the Mekong to Luang Prabang, the religious centre of Laos. The journey was very peaceful with stops at local villages and Hmong hill tribe settlements to be surrounded by children and to be offered the local moonshine. We also saw working elephants (as opposed to Thai tourist ones) pulling logs down to the river and visited the Pak Ou caves where locals used to hide out during the Viet Nam war that spilled over into Laos and ultimately led to the downfall of the monarchy and the installation of a communist government.

King Sisavang Vong, together with the Queen, the Crown Prince and several other members of the Royal family were removed to "re-education camps" in the north-eastern province of Houaphan on 11th March 1977, and have never been heard of since. One of the royal princesses survived this being at college in the US and has since returned and restored a family home in Luang Prabang into a boutique hotel in the centre of the town, Villa Santi. We spent several idyllic days based there, venturing out to visit the many wats (temples) around the town, watching the buddhist monks collecting rice from the faithful at dawn or the early morning mist rising off the Mekong.

Sadly, we hear that Luang Prabang is now firmly entrenched on the back-packer route - the type of traveller who sneer at you for carrying your blackberry and wearing smart shorts and polo, and then complain loudly about their bacon and eggs not being how it is back home while you eat your local noodles - happened to us in Laos although not in Luang Prabang...