The best things we saw (or did)

Joan took Peet, Louisa, Max and I to Malaysia, Laos and Thailand - it was a feast. Max was nervous before we went but once we hit the tarmac at the Gold Coast airport he hit his stride and didn't stop till ... well I'll let you know if it ever stops. Louisa was the life of the party and Peet was an old hand having been to Israel and Jordan a few years ago.

After some discussion we have decided that the highlights were:

Changing on the street in KL - we couldn't find our guest house and jeans and sneakers were just too hot in 40+ degree heat so we changed on the street - we just hid behind some plants. Eventually we found our guest house which was just around the corner and very welcome.

After the night markets - where we had a most interesting dinner - we had a late night and then breakfast of roti, dahl and watermelon - which makes it into the highlights because it was everyone's favourite breakfast. And now I really want to have Anna Gounder come and teach me how to make it. Joan says she make excellent roti.

The Pewter factory was surprisingly fascinating.

And Peet held a bunch of Formula 1 trophies - he was very happy. (Those things are heavy - I will have new admiration for the drivers when they hold the trophy one-handed above their heads.)

The Batu caves - huge limestone caves for which we walked up 17 flights of 17 stairs in incredibly humid hot weather and still we call it a highlight - so it was quite something to see.

And then we had a fish spa - which was hysterically funny. Peet was lying across Joan's leg to keep her in. And passersby stopped to have photos taken with Louisa and Max and to admire Max's 'little nose'.

I really liked our next stop in Vientiane - the capital of Laos - the kids were not so enamoured. The heat was around the 48 - 49 degree mark by 7 am (the locals were going to hospital with heat exhaustion) and we walked all over the city anyway.

But what really killed it was the morning markets. There are arts and crafts markets but early in the morning there are the local food markets. At first it was charming.

But quickly Max was overwhelmed - it was very busy. We were the only falangs (foreigners) there and there was a lot to see and smell.

Then we took them into the meat hall where girls sat on tables groaning with dead animals that were practically still quivering, and chopped great chunks of meat with cleavers. (One of them was cutting her toenails in her down time.) It was all too much - eye level for Max - and Peet said he had to leave because 'I really like to eat meat and if I stay here much longer I won't be able to.' So since Max looked like he might throw up at any moment we hurried out of that frying pan and into a fire - live toads and so on for sale to take home for dinner.

But we redeemed the day by taking them to Joma - a restaurant owned by a Canadian woman who caters to western tastes in food and air conditioning. It was the only place we encountered in all of Laos with air conditioning that worked. As a result it was teeming with falangs ordering Caesar salads and basking in the the cool. There was a Joma in Vientiane and in Luang Prabang and they were both our main meeting place.

These girls are waitresses in Luang Prabang and they are cleaning the first floor windows. They were gorgeous and so pleased that we took their photos - we were very well looked after there.

There is a branch of the Church in Vientiane with 200 members - they meet in a converted French Colonial building which looks lovely. We were there on Sunday but it was District Conference and the members had gone to Thailand for the day. We did get to meet the two humanitarian services missionary couples serving there and hear about what the church is up to in Laos - it's pretty impressive - especially in light of the teeming masses of NGO's in Vientiane.

Luang Prabang was everyone's favourite town. Still incredibly hot but we stayed at Khoune and Khones guest house just outside of town at the foot of the mountains which was cooler.

They pick up from the bus in their jeep and drive guests all around town in the open air which is also fun and cool.

The night markets were a hit and Max bought a slingshot which Khoune said he could shoot at anything and anywhere - and even picked up a handful of stones for him to start - those rules do not apply at home.

We loved the guesthouse - in addition to being charming, Khone is a magnificent cook and Khoune played the Chinese Xylophone for us while we had dinner.

We spent a lot of time walking around the town - it's a World Heritage town and full of lovely architecture. There's also a school in the middle of the town with the cutest kids. They loved the kids passport copies hanging around their necks.

The centre of town is built in the fork of two rivers - the Mekong and the Nam. They are spectacular rivers. Kids swim in them all the time - during lunch break from school, and on their way home.

On the banks of the Mekong there are restaurants, women weaving and various other enterprises - and a fair bit of trading. This pig had come from across the Mekong and was carted screaming up the hill,

and dumped into this tuk tuk to go home and be slaughtered for dinner.

A boat trip down the Mekong was fascinating - to some of us - it was just relaxing for Max.

Foot massages were cheap - and very popular - the girls had them everyday.

One afternoon Khoun took us to the hill tribes. There are two villages side by side (Khmer and Hmong) and they were really wonderful to see. Laos is chock full of gorgeous children and the villages even more so.

We met these beautiful girls on our way to the village,

and here they are on our way home - they're collecting tadpoles which they will steam on banana leaves for dinner.

But of all the beautiful things we saw in Luang Prabang the best of all I don't have a photo for - we were walking down the street and a crippled woman with no shoes and a walking cane was begging - she had something wrong with her eyes too but could still see. We gave her cash of course then went on our way, but turned around in time to see three young school boys on their midday break trying to give her their lunch - and she trying to refuse it. The boys prevailed and she took the lunch and the boys headed off towards the Mekong - probably for a swim. Gorgeous.

Chaing Mai is in northern Thailand - far away from Bangkok - nobody there really cared what was going on in Bangkok. (The Red Shirts and so on.)

Our hotel was right across the road from an enormous Buddhist festival. Buddhist festivals are full of flowers and are incredibly happy. The Wat (temple) was one of the oldest in Thailand and has had many new Wats built around it. The festival was to pray for rain. It has proven remarkably effective over the years - the monsoon season arrives in a couple of weeks.

For additional good luck you can release little brown birds - Louisa and Max released a family of about 6 birds.

Due to some dodgy slushies at the festival Louisa was throwing up and Peet and Max were sick the next day - but we didn't let that stop us from eating at the most gorgeous restaurant.

'The elephants' - that's the answer when anyone is asked about the best thing on the trip. And they were magnificent.

We had an elephant each who we fed, then washed in a creek, then rode for 45 minutes to a waterfall where we played with them in the water and had lunch.

Another 1 hour ride - through very scary jungle paths - followed, then a talk on elephants. And a viewing of 18 month old twin elephants the park has been hiding from the government. Then a final half hour ride through a beautiful creek.

Finally - another night in KL - this time at a larger hotel opposite the KL Convention Centre where the World Islamic Economic Forum was being held - so security everywhere and impossibly elegant Muslim men and women filling the streets - bought a book on Islamic finance - very interesting - had pedicures and home.