Last lap

So this is the end of the holiday.
Flight from London to Bangkok for a one night stay. Street stalls, good food and a massage, plus Joanna managed to get two shirts ordered at 4 pm delivered to the hotel at 3 am plus ordering a pair of prescription glasses for collection when we returned to Bangkok.
A flight up to Luang Prabang in Laos (David was last there in 1967), quite a change but still a very pleasant laid back place in spite of lots of tourists, but most of the relaxed sort. Street markets with all sorts of woven goods and best of all Lao Beer overlooking the Mekong river as the sun goes down. (David's opinion - I liked the markets!)
We reserved our seat on the river boat that goes upstream each day (the slow boat)and after two days set off. A very mixed set of fellow travellers of several European nations, plus locals, plus goods to be delivered en route. 9 hours later we arrived at dusk to Pakbeng. Finding lodging was not easy with other boats coming downstream who had booked a room. Anyway a dingy room with electricity cut off at 10 pm. However the place did have a fantastic view over the river and the boats of all sorts that ply the river: the regular passenger slow boats, luxury slow boats, cargo boats, fishing canoes and the fast (but dangerous 'long tail' boats with crash helmeted passengers.
Next day another 9 hours upstream with the passages through the rapids highlighted when the boat struck a rock and passed over - passengers suddenly very much alert, (no life jackets ever spotted) but a look in the bilges confirmed no damage to the hull, motor continued to run - phew.
At Huay Say the highlight of our Lao adventure - two nights with the 'Gibbon Experience. A long and part very bumpy ride into the Bokeo Nature park with 13 people packed into a land cruiser, followed by a three hour trek - that's the classic part. The unusual part was donning a climbing harness and whizzing over a network of cables (flying foxes to us Kiwis) at times over a hundred metres above the valleys, on cables up to 500m long, for the 5 of us in our group to arrive at our tree house. This tree house set maybe 40 or 50 metres above ground can only be accessed by cable, our local guide or his wife delivered food etc. We really looked forward to the kettle of boiling water arriving on the wire in the morning. We had piped water, no electricity and a very long 'long drop' toilet. During the day we part trekked, part 'zipped' as they called it around the jungle looking for Gibbons (only one sighted far up in the canopy), birds and squirrels. It was a memorable, and unique experience with an organisation that is trying to protect the forest park and involve the local population so as to discourage poaching etc.
Back across the Mekong into Thailand, a bus to Chang Rai for a night very good night market for food and local goods, a scooter to see around the town next day and a flight back to Bangkok.
Collect Joanna's glasses, good food, couldn't miss another massage, and here we are at the airport again.

UK - OK

Well it's hard to believe that our little adventure is nearly over. We arrived in England yesterday after a wild and bumpy Channel crossing. Actually it was not as bad as they said it was going to be and I was able to eat and drink something, which was unexpected! With rapidly plummeting temperatures as we headed north and increasingly gloomy skies, life in Bob was beginning to get a little uncomfortable so it seems like the right time to end.

We last blogged in Peniscola, seems ages ago, before Katie met up with us in Barcelona. Aware of our parental responsibilities, we got up at 5 in the morning to catch the first underground train to collect her from an overnight bus trip. We stumbled through the dark, deserted, silent streets, negotiated a series of trains to arrive at our destination with minutes to spare. Felt very pleased with our efforts. We waited and waited, were assured by someone in a uniform, who looked official, that there was a bus due from Marselles. Then got a text, 'Where are you?' turns out we were at the wrong bus station, so several more trains and we finally met up.
Katie had been in Barcelona earlier in the year so was able to show us around a bit and we were able to pay for her to go to all the things that she couldn't afford before. It's a vibrant city, full of museums, cathedrals and of course bars and restaurants. Visited the Picasso museum, cathedral, various parks and the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral, lots of wandering up and down the Rambla.
Probably, and unfortunately, our dominant memories of Barcelona are of David twice being the target of pickpockets on the Metro and one of Bob's tyres being spiked causing a flat tyre on a steep and narrow street. Luckily we had been advised of this and were able to foil their attempts, but it is unsettling and we were quite happy to move on.
Set off from Barcelona along the autoroute, minus a spare tyre, a bit unnerving, but we didn't want to hang around another day. Headed for the hilltop monastry of Montserrat. Not far from Barcelona. It is an striking setting, high on a hill surrounded by amazing rock formations. Spent a small fortune to go up on a rack railway, only to get to the top and find a carpark! These are the problems you get when your grasp of the language is fairly rudimentary. Anyway it was all impressive and we had a free night's accomodation in our carpark down below!
We moved on north to the Costa Brava. It has a terrible reputation as a British package holiday destination, but we found some of the most beautiful coastal spots. Delightful little bays with taverna type restaurants almost on the beach. I think it is past its heyday and the coast further south with mile upon mile of high rise appartments have taken over. You can cram more people into a smaller space and feed them on fish and chips.
On north across the border to Perpignon, where Katie was again able to show us around. A short stop and then the long trek north to Paris. The autoroutes are great though, Bob chomps through the miles and the rest stops on the way are good for overnight stops and have pretty good restaurants and shops. Can always get fresh bread, croissants and pain chocolat in the morning to keep David happy.
Had a stopover in Milau, home of the famous viaduct. We went under it, over it and took photos. Had a fantastic lunch in the village square, enjoying the last of the hot weather that we were likely to encounter for a while. All very impressive. Why can't we get a new harbour bridge like that?
Then Paris. It was my great wish to experience Paris with a bit more money than last time 30 something years ago when I was impoverished. Our accomodation was humble, Bob in the Bois de Bologne camping ground with several hundred other camper vans, but we had a great time. Did all the classics, up the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, Musee d'Orsay, Pompidou Centre, Montmatre, Notre Dame and the wonderful Sainte Chapelle, boat trips on the Seine, meals in the Latin Quarter, walked the Champs Elysee from Notre Dame right through to the Louvre. And finally a day at Versailles. It was all wonderful and we were exhausted by the end.
We were a bit sluggish, moving north, not wanting it to end, however we finished with a couple of days on the Normandy coast, Deauville, Trouville and Honfleur. We enjoyed markets, restaurants and wandering around the town.
So here we are, cleaning Bob out, sorting out all our bits. Those things to go home and those to stay in the Camper Van kit at Maureen's. So we will come back but won't be for a year or two. And we still have a very different adventure ahead in Thailand, including jungle treks and a hotel in the trees!