DAY 1

Hi there folks we finally made it to Lao. Set off from Manchester on the 3rd Sept flying with Etihad (MCFC Airways) arriving Bangkok early on the 4th and took an internal flight to Udon Thani in NE Thailand and crossed the border into Lao via the Friendship Bridge on a shuttle bus hence the naff photo below (Thailand on the right, Lao on the left) and met up with our hired 9 seater mini bus and driver named Tong. Having made astonishingly fast progress we cancelled our hotel in the capital Vientiane the cultural delights of which could wait till another day cos we're Birders and we're on a mission.

At the border we exchanged some sterling into Lao Kips £1=14,000kps...loadsamoney.

We arrived late evening at Na Hin - our base for the next four days and booked into the brand new Phamaanview Guesthouse (superbly clean and efficient). En route Pod had his first taste of Lao beer (quality) and we both sampled the local cuisine...fried fish with extra chilli and rice...sorted!

Birding highlights

Asian Openbill(2) on the runway!! at Bangkok Airport.