So many reasons to go to Laos

Buddha Park alone was worth the visit to Vientiane but one day there was enough. Luang Prabang, UNESCO World Heritage site, was the main event. Actually, forget the thirty-two temples, for Son and Husband I suspect the French baguettes were the real draw.

(Laos became a French protectorate in 1893 when a French warship reached Bangkok via the Chao Phraya River and pointed its guns at the palace. It compelled the Siamese to give France sovereignty over all Lao territories east of the Mekong.* Hence the French bread…)

But I digress. If I’d known there’d be a parade of elephants in Thanon Sisavangvong, Luang Prabang to greet us, that might have been the main incentive to me.

I am so easily bought and I do love elephants. Right at the end you can hear me practising my Lao. They say 'sabai dii' for hello, which in Thai means 'how are you.' I was perpetually confused.

*Lonely Planet: Laos by Austin Bush, Mark Elliot, Nick Ray