Mike is the winner of the Globetrotter Club £1,000 legacy available to members under 30 years of age for the best independent travel plan. Our £1000 travel prize is available to anyone in the world, as long as they are a member, have a great plan for independent travel and are under the age of 30. So, visit our legacy page and get those plans in!!

Mike is using his travel award to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Here’s Part 2 of his travels:

I am now in Luang Prabang in Laos and have been for the last few days. I believe Tha-ton was the last place I e-mailed so I’ll try and update you on the progress. I took the boat down to Chiang Rai where I visited the Hill Tribe museum and pottered about. Chiang Rai is a very prosperous city with large shops and a very large number of four by fours.

I left the next morning to make it up to Chiang Sean further north on the Mekong which allowed me hire a motor bike to head up to the Golden Triangle and to the boarder crossing with Burma. The motorbike allowed a great deal of freedom and the chance to take back roads and see farms and local industries.

From Chiang Sean I set off early for the slow boat into Laos leaving from Chaing Kong. The trip took two days. We spent the night in a little village called Pakbeng roughly half way along the route. The scenery was amazing, mile after mile of hills covered in vegetation the whole way down. A snake came aboard for a while and water was being bailed for the whole of the second day but we made it into Luang Prabang without sinking!

I've found an incredible difference between Thailand and what I have so far seen in Laos. There are many obvious changes like they drive on the opposite side to Thailand (though in both countries no one seems to stick to anyone side for very long!). The money also is almost comical. The exchange rate is about 10,800 kip to one US dollar so when I changed a 100 dollar travellers cheque I was an instant kip millionaire! This alone is not the crazy thing – the largest current kip note is 5,000 or around 50 cents so my 100 dollars brought me literally a rucksack full of cash I guess it must be easier to weigh it then to count it out. The kip also goes down in denominations down to a 1 kip note! The greatest difference that I have found is the people. In Laos they are so friendly – in my experience I have never come across such genuine friendliness – everyone smiles and wants to chat, everyone always waves as you go past and the children especially want to see you and play.

There has been none of the hassle which you can get – especially in Bangkok – everyone just seems happier and contented and it is definitely noticeable. Luang Prabang is exactly as I hoped it would be. The town is beautiful and very small and you can easily walk across it. The atmosphere is very relaxed and slow moving you can sense the French influence all around and I’m going to be sad to leave. Around the city there is lots to do including many incredible waterfalls where you can walk right onto them and swim at the bottom. I went to the Royal Theatre last night in the grounds of the old Royal Palace – for a traditional Lao night – so culture is being thrown at me from all angles.