and finally a yoga retreat in Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw is beautiful, the scenery is stunning
and the town has a great vibe which i loved - friendly, relaxed and vital.
Kathrin and Julie, the yoga teachers, I know from Luang Prabang
they were fantastic, their yin and yang energies complemented each other.
And I loved the warm, kind and fun energy of the group
came back feeling very zen

Sok Dee Pee Mai

Happy New Year guys!
reach for the stars in 2015

New Year's Eve was fun in Luang Prabang
delicious dinner, all was looking civilised
lit lanterns with my dad and christine and made a New Year's wish
then we were given shots of laolao at bamboo tree restaurant
a slippery slope! yikes
what followed - a pub crawl, dodgy dancing, more shots, takela
staggered home with half the town at 3 o'clock

i'm too old for hangovers! one day i'll grow up
had to cook New Year's Day dinner - ooohph

New Year lunches

there are big celebrations for new year here in Laos
we've had heaps of invites at work to lunch parties from other organisations
we went along to the Luang Prabang Department of Investment and Planning's bash
nosh, beerlao, dancing and karaoke from 11.30 a.m. until night
no beerlao for me, i had to return to work in the afternoon
a good excuse to dodge the karaoke which is all about volume and nothing to do with talent!

christmas dinners

2 Christmas dinners this year

one on a riverboat floating along the Mekong

and one at one of luang prabang's poshest restaurants

suddenly it felt like Christmas and I needed to sing carols
a few drinks led to whaling carols at the top of our voices

apologies to the other diners! not everyone appreciated our tuneful harmonies!!
merry christmas guys xxxx

a trip to the waterfalls

the novices at wat naluang suggested a trip to the waterfalls
well it's the christmas holidays, they've been studying hard and rarely have treats
so we got a tuktuk and riverboat up to tad say waterfalls
the novice monks dived in fully robed, it was wonderful to see their shear joy 

simple pleasures are the best

Christmas Classes on the Mekong

we decided to have a change from the classroom for Boxing Day lessons (not a holiday in Laos)
we had our lessons on the River Mekong - fun, memorable and beautiful
i learned the hand signal for i love you!

Hmong New Year week 2

loved it so much last weekend
wanted to return for more fun and courting