Luang Perbang Kipperbang.

Arrived in Luang Perbang last night after a two day slow boat ride down the mekong from the Thai border. The boat ride was cool, we were basically trapped on the boat for the whole day, so there was nothing to do but listen to some great music (of course) on my walkman and watch the landscape go by. Laos is 85% covered by unmanaged wild jungle and has a population of only 5 Million people, so even though we were on a crowded boat there were definitley some moments where I felt pretty isolated. It was definitley and experience that I would reccomend to anyone, although my arse would probably disagree somewhat. Lunag Perbang is a beautiful little town along the Mekong river with a decidedly french air about it. It was designated a world heritage site, and because of this it has retained a lot of it's colonial character. Sorry to sound like a travel brochure, but it really is nice, spent today just wandering around, reading my book and generally being quite lazy, but it's all been in an idyllic setting. The place reminds me a lot of Hoi An in Vietnam, but without the four hundred thousand tailors cramming the streets.

Not sure how long I will stay here before moving on, but I have to say I'm not in any rush at the moment, especially as the next stop is Vang Vien, described by the lonely planet as a mini Koh San road. Still, I'm sure there will be fun stuff to do there... I'll keep everyone posted!

As a conclusion, these albums are good to listen to whilst sitting in a boat watching jungle pass by. (And the occasional inflated dead wild pig.)

Mogwai - Rock Action
Ian brown - Music of the spheres
The Cinematic Orchestra - everyday
DJ NU Mark - Hands on
and my new favourite album; Amon Tobin's - Supermodified.

umm... That's it, netx time I will hopefully be in the other internet cafe where there is a very cute ginger cat that was sitting on my lap getting very cross when I was trying to type.

Hope the takings are easy...