sun 100th day!

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This morning started sharp at 6am being picked up by minibus along with Jenna, annalene, Erica and Katya - a lady from Germany. After picking up two more people we were on our way to Chiang khong which is on the border with Laos. 3hrs of driving we arrived at the border, got our passports exit stamped, got a farewell hug from the driver and got on a bus to take us to the Laos border. A few hundred yards down the road we parted with 36 US dollars ( normally 35 but because its Sunday its 36!) 2 passport photos, 2 forms filled out got our passports stamped and our visas and we were officially in Laos! Next stop for the day was in the back of a pickup truck and we were driven to the Mekong river. Picking up our boat tickets and exchanging baht to kip we walked down to the Mekong and got on the waiting longtail boat. The choice of seats was either wooden or padded seats that look like theyve been lifted from a 1970's bus and not being attached to anything they were a bit precarious. Sitting near the engine it was a noisy 4hr journey to pakbeng. Which the crew initially had problems with - but thankfully got it started. The scenery along the Mekong was beautiful - lush green hills with tiny wooden hut villages dotted along the way, children playing amongst water buffalo with adults fishing for the evenings dinner. Arriving slightly earlier than planned to pakbeng we walked up the concrete slope and found the guesthouse we had booked for the night. I had a spare bed in my room so I shared with Katya, after showering we all headed out for dinner. Deciding to opt for tradional Lao food I had lap which is minced meat, fish or tofu with lemongrass, garlic, coriander, a local river weed and chilli and it was delicious, so will definitely be trying it again. Feeling pretty tired from the days travelling we relaxed for the rest of the evening before doing the same again tomorrow.

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