A young monk similar to one I chatted to today. He spending 2 years in a single monastary, getting up at 4 am to chant, then meditate, then free time, then more of the same in the evening. 'No freedom', he said, 'same every day.' When I asked him why he'd signed up for so long he said something about family expectations.

The oldest and most important wat in Luang Prabang pictured (more pics swiped from t'internet until I get around to posting my own) is rather splendid, and has several satellite buildings one of which is a kind of garage for the last king's hearse, which is itself also rather impressive. Overall the style is architecturally similar to the wats in Chiang Mai, but details such as the layered roofs and roof-corner ornamentation differ. Also, the sculpted depiction of the Buddha differs in some respects, and has an emphasis on the standing 'praying for rain' posture.

The Luang Prabang museum is housed in the old king's palace, which was built by the French. In it there are wonderfully airy chambers sparsely furnished with, among other things, very old lockers for leaf-paper inscriptions. Among the gifts on display the most incongruous is a model of the lunar module of Apollo 11 and a piece of moon rock (actually missing) which was sent with a personal message from Richard Nixon in the early 70s, stating that the Lao flag was on board when the module landed. I don't know if every world leader received such a gift, but I found out today that Laos is the most-bombed nation per capita in the history of warfare. Even more incongruous to find, then, that the country was neutral throughout the Vietnam war, and that the CIA illegally (against the Geneva convention) operated bombing raids from Laos using agents and pilots ostensibly positioned as aid and development workers. The bombs were dropped by American pilots returning from raids, in order to comply with orders to come back with bomb bays empty. Operations from Laos were carried out in secret, and unlike Nam, no media correspondents were allowed in the area. The American public never even knew. So much for democracy.

As for the Communist North Vietnamese, they also occupied parts of Laos illegally, stationing huge numbers of troops in the north east of the country.

The years after the end of American withdrawal and the fall of South Vietnam were turbulent for the Lao. The King and his family, imprisoned in a cave by the Communists who wrested long-term power after a series of coups and counter-coups in 1975, died of neglect, starvation and disease within a few years.

Now it seems the ruling Party, despite the presence of an old-guard educated in hard-line Vietnam, are gradually modernising and liberalising in the face of a sceptical peasant power-base who would rather get on with life in the manner that the Thais, their closest historical and cultural allies, have done all along.

Anyway, Laos today seems to be thriving. I had an excellent day pedalling between the wats, around the markets, and out to the local countryside, and watching the sun set over the might Mekong was really rather special. Tomorrow I'm going kayaking with a mixed bunch of tourists and travellers, so back to the Lonely Planet talk...