Laos -slowly but surely!
17.08.2011 - 20.08.2011
So it was goodbye to Chiang mai as we headed by bus to Chang Kong but not before I got to experience a real Thai toilet complete with hole in floor, buckets and hose........probably best not try to explain that one.......safe to say my bladder went shy! We were moving onto Laos via slow boat which we caught in the border town of Chang Kong after an overnight stay organised with a package tour we booked through the tourist office in C.M. We took a small wooden boat across the river for approx 5mins to Huay Xai where we got our visas for $35. We were taken by what can only be described as a barbie bus (photo to follow) to the slow boat. The journey itself was....well.....slow, there's no other way to describe it! It involves 2 days of 6hrs sailing down the river to Luang Prabang with an overnight stop in Pak Beng. We stopped along the way with food (live chickens were spotted in one bag!) and drink supplies for isolated villages that were dotted along the route. The seats are relatively comfortable but we were lucky not to end up with the wooden benches, otherwise it would've made for sore backsides even with the cushions we bought for less than a euro (these are a wise investment). We met several new friends on board the trip and it was a great opportunity to hear their stories as we had met few other travellers in C.M. We arrive in Luang Prabang at 5pm Wednesday. We locate a guesthouse after our bed bug experts Maria and Edel have completed their inspection! The first night is quiet -dinner with friends and a stroll through the vast array of stalls in the night market. We visited the Pak Ou caves- a kindof graveyard for unwanted budda statues- and the Kuang Si Waterfalls which due to the high rainfalls in the current wet season we not as picturesque as expected. A trip to the local bowling alley on our last night provided a great nights entertainment for what seemed to be every backpacker in L.P (probably as everything else here closes by 11pm), Fiona and Maria were battling it out for champion status with hilarious consequences! But a bit of competition is healthy right?
Posted by elisasdiary 27.08.2011 10:17 Archived in Laos
