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Published: October 26th 2008
Laos, slow boat and sore bums!
dan writing....so we have just returned into Thailand. Laos was a great experience, and an eye opener for sure. If anyone ever asks you to take a slow boat down the Mekong River, just say....I'm taking the bus!
We endured our 16 hour boat ride, over two days, and decided boat trips with wooden benches are not for us. Call us picky or whatever, but you have to draw some lines in the sand!
Jodi became the boat Police, as one traveller named her. This, due to Jodi scalding her over taking two of the comfier seats to herself, while everyone else was crammed into the wooden benches, or on the floor. Good for her! I sat on the benches with a couple American guys having philosophical discussions. Everything from politics to cartoons....good times. We were happy to get to Luang Prabang and walk for a bit.
Pak Beng, our night stopover during our boat ride was unique. All the guesthouse people meet you at the boat and pressure you to stay at their place. Jodi finds out her bag has gotten wet under the floor boards of the boat, and thus she
is pissed! No calming her down, I set out searching for a place, without her input. A couple crapholes later, we find a decent place. Then the firecrackers start...loudly! It was the end of the rainy season festival and every kid, aged two to fifty, are throwing firecrackers at each other. So the noise is deafening as we finally sit down to eat. We ate dinner with a couple friends from the boat (a guy from USA and a girl from Holland). She inevitably, upon finishing her dinner and walking out, was struck with a firecracker and started to bleed on her leg. I feel thrilled that I get to clean a wound, in a sick medic kind of way. She is calm but Jodi is scared, when she hears a young girl has already been sent to the hospital with a laceration across her face (she threw it up and it landed on her face....ouch). Room 8, here we come!
Luang Prabang was a very nice place, outside what we were expecting. We enjoyed the city very much. Our guesthouse was very comfortable, the food was good and the night market had the best handicrafts to date. We
bought a bunch of goods, and should have purchased more. Oh well.
Why the egg sandwich?.....The mornings in Asia are hard to find an adequate egg breakfast, let alone a breakfast sandwich! (Rita, just to let you know, your egg sandwiches are to die for!) We ate at the Scandinavian Bakery every morning. It was nice to eat a solid breakfast and great coffee too.
We have met so many people on our last legs of this trip. Mostly Americans who love to learn more about Canada. Who knew? Jodi and I have made some great new friends who we will try to keep in touch with. It's always hard when you get back, cause it's a different world, and everyone is so busy.
Back to Lao...We arrived in Vientiane, after an 11 hour bus ride, during a rain storm, and had to find a place to stay. It was late at night, dark out and raining cats and dogs. After being wet and finding out that almost every guesthouse was booked solid, we stay in a new hotel. $30 later, we decide Laos is very expensive and set our minds on Thailand (once more). We move
rooms on day 2 (in Vientiane) to a cheaper place (13$) but still decide we are going back to Thailand. Vientiane is a nice place, but not much to see in the long run. Nong Khai here we come!
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Dougal
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Boat Police
Way to go Jodi- give em hell. You never did say if the perpitrator ever left the seat or moved her butt. Well, only one week to go then back to the mundane and boring...oh, forgot, Dan likes the NFL.......lol. Still waiting for that headstand. Keep up with the pictures, great stuff. See you soon. Take Care.....ps- Mama Mia rules