An empty street in the Laotian capital, Vientiane.
Ian on a Laotian tuk-tuk. 
Pha That Luang, the most important national monument in Laos.
Pha That Luang
Patuxai, a replica of the Arc de Triomphe, is also called "the vertical runway" because it was built from concrete donated by the U.S. to build a new airport in the country. The monument commemorates Laotians who died in pre-revolutionary wars.
View from the top of Patuxai.
Wat Si Saket is the oldest temple in Vientiane (built in 1818). The walls are lined with thousands of niches containing small Buddha statues.
Erawan, the three-headed elephant, is a prevalent symbol in Laos.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the Buddhist temple, of course.
The tiny Vientiane domestic terminal.
Our small Laos Air plane, for our trip to Luang Prabang.
View of the mountains surrounding Luang Prabang.
The little Luang Prabang Airport 
Luang Prabang night market, where I bought a small Erawan statue.
Laos Royal Palace Museum: home to the Laos royal family until the 1975 communist revolution, when the family was exiled to northern Laos and imprisoned in caves.
More Erawan... and a view of the damp surroundings that meant major delays for us.
An ornate naga.
The climb up the Phu Si temple.
View from the top of the hill.
The muddy flooding Mekong.
Ian in front of the Mekong.
I was drenched by this point and using the poncho to protect Ian's camera.
Sleeping Buddha statute on the path down from Phu Si. 
This is said to be Buddha's footprint...
With a 12-year-old Buddhist monk who befriended us and gave us his e-mail address.
Monks in an alley.
Monks in front of a temple.
A scary cat statue by the Mekong.
The rising waters of the Mekong.
Ian in front of a large naga boat.
Ornate glasswork on the side a temple.
The tree of life.
A decapitation depicted in the stained glass.
Ian just before boarding the VERY LONG bus ride that made us miss our flight in Vientiane.
A mudslide caused by the excessive rains that soaked Laos for the few days before our bus trip.
View of the mudslide once we walked across it with our luggage.
Loading our bags in the small truck-bus that took us to Vientiane.
Crammed in the truck that at one point had 22 people, three live pigs, and a bag of live crabs!
We FINALLY made it out of Laos and to the fancy Bangkok airport.
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