Overnight in Pak Beng

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The night in Pak Beng was nothing short of memorable.

After our 150km longboat journey, we pull in to Pak Beng for the night.
Around 20 children storm the boat and grab any bag they can in hope to carry it up the steep hill for you....for a fee. Craig and I are one step ahead and already have ours strapped to our backs.
We check into our guesthouse and try to wash off the day in a freezing shower.
I eat the most amazing pumpkin curry for dinner and retire to bed early at 8pm in an attempt to fall asleep before the generator goes off at 10pm.

It all started with a little itch, a tiny bite that made me wonder......bed bugs in the bed?
I flick the light back on and check the sheets. Tiny little blood-spot stains litter the bed. Not fresh ones, but certainly remnants of past guests. I decide to sleep in my lightweight sleeping bag and wake a peacefully sleeping Craig in my attempt to climb in.
Now I have him paranoid too, so he gets up and puts his jeans and hoodie on and lays on top of the covers.
A rooster crows, the restaurant downstairs starts slamming its shutters and the generator next door hums.
Craig gets up and plugs in the pedestal fan to drown out the noise. The cord is frayed and wrapped in brown elastoplast tape. Craig falls asleep and the snoring begins, I wake him not less than eight times to shut him up. A rooster crows again and Craig moves to sleep at the other end of the bed so I'll leave him alone.
Finally, I fall asleep.
The rooster is on crack and crows some more, the other roosters in the village respond, a Mexican-wave of “Cockadoodle-Doos” sweeps the mountain side.
A dog barks.

In the dark of the morning we fumble to pack our bags and head downstairs for breakfast.
The black, gritty coffee is sweetened with a truckload of condensed milk yet still remains as black.
We board our boat for the final 180km run to Luang Prabang. The clouds hang low on the river, enveloping us. The wind chill factor is intense and I climb back into my sleeping bag to catch up on lost sleep.

I wake to see smiling faces lining the beach of the river. The Hmong children play in the sand and smile for the camera. Dogs, chickens, piglets and goats roam free among the wooden and thatched housing. The local women hold out handicrafts and I end up buying a little embroided bag to say thank you for allowing us into their village.

Further downstream we cruise and eventually arrive at Pak Ou caves which are filled with hundreds of Buddhist statues of different sizes and shapes. Small children gather outside selling tiny birds in little bamboo cages.

As the amber sun sets, we arrive at Luang Prabang.

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Photos

Village child
Naked with backpack?

Snuggling up in the morning on the boat.
The Cosmic 1000! My super-dooper sleeping bag.