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Published: July 11th 2012
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We left Thailand on the 29th and crossed the Mekong on rickety little boats to the Loas border where we were given our visas and transported to our slow boat.
The slow boats were indeed slow as we set of down the Mekong with Thailand on one side and Loas on the other. The scenery was fantastic but the journey is long and it doesn't take long to get uncomfortable in the car seat seats!
The boat stopped fairly regularly letting locals on and off just onto random rocks and beaches. We have no idea how they know where they are, it seemed like we were just going in circles to me. After 2 hours both sides of the river become Loas but there is no visible difference. It felt wierd to be in a different country by just floating down a river but I guess thats what you get growing up in a Island Nation.
After 8 hours we pulled up in a small port that was our over night stop - Pak Beng. The town was tiny and totally reliant on tourists. The street is just lined with GHs and restaurants. We opted for an Indian
dinner and were suprised when the power to the whole town cut out not longer after we had sat down. The generator soon kicked in but some parts of town just carried on like normal but operating in candlelight. Later that evening we made our way to "Hive Bar - the only bar in town." We were given a free whiskey shot (blurgh) and later joined by a few others, had an enjoyable evening.
The second day was an earlier start on the boat and an even longer trip than the previous day. Jordan and I got the back seat (Rebels) which meant we could recline - luxury after the previous days discomfort. Another beautiful day of jungle scenery and relaxing on the boat. We arrived in Luang Prabang about 7.30pm and ended up in a GH not far from where the boat had dropped us. We made our way around the night market after dinner but it was built for Asian height and Jord must have bashed his head about 5-6 times walking around. Almost as an apology for this the same market provided Jordan with vests big enough to fit him which we'd struggled to find in
Thailand.
The next day we were 'supposed' to go visit the waterfalls but the weather was on and off and by the time a hairdresser had cut my hair short 😞 it was already 2pm and didnt seem worth it. Instead we sat by the river until it started raining and we were forced to retreat to our room for a bit.
That night I tried a Papaya salad for the first time (Amys recommendation) but i think the restaurant we were in was a bit crap as it was disgusting like watery fishy chewy lettuce! Jordans meal was also pretty bad though and they'd messed up the spring rolls so I'm reserving judgment for now!We went to another 'Hive Bar' that night and sat talking to a couple of lads from Manchester and a 65yr old French Guy who'd broken his shoulder surfing in Bali! Despite the difficulties in communication and understanding we ended up having a good laugh and Jord really impressed the guys by eating one of the ants he'd already tried in the Jungle haha!
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