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Published: March 31st 2009
Sunday 01st March We're off to Laos today. Had a lie in and a lazy day around Hanoi. We were picked up at 1700 by a motorbike taxi. We declined, obviously! As if a driver, two people, two round-the-world-backpacks plus hand luggage are going to fit on a 50cc moto. A short "discussion" later and a taxi was called. We picked up two Argentinian guys and were dropped at the Laos Embassy in Hanoi at about 1815. We then had a nervous wait, wondering if the bus was going to show. Thankfully at 1910 it turned up, and left at about 1930. I'm quite pleased to see a lot of locals on it as this improves the chances of it actually going alll the way to Vientiane! The bus cost us $14 each (we booked at Apple Hotel, 53b Luong Noc Quyen Street, Hanoi Old Quarter) though others had paid up to $25 each. It's a journey of indeterminate length depending on who you ask. We should be in Vientiane between 1000 and 1700 tomorrow so it's not at all vague. Nothing amazing about the journey - as it's dark! Insomnia boy here can't sleep though. Everybody else seems to be
Patuxai/Anusawali
"The Vertical Runway"doing OK. I'm sat in front of a chronic-lung-cancer-suffering Darth Vader and behind a pneumatic drill. Aimee has wind - which isn't helping!!
Monday 02nd March We arrive at the Laos border at about 0400. It opens at 0700 so we wait. Most people sleep, but I'm still not able to, so I go for a short walk. It's dark and misty and there is an eery orange glow from the lampposts. I finally nod off at about 0545 to be awaken at 0615 to fill in the paperwork. The border crossing runs smoothly enough, although everyone wants $1 to process things (we were pre-warned so had some handy). The Vietnamese want a dollar to give you an "exit" stamp then the Laos bunch want a dollar for your "entry" stamp. So it's about 0830 when we leave immigration. I finally fall asleep now, just as the journey is getting interesting. It's totally different countryside to Vietnam - still very green, but drier and hotter. There seem to be less paddy fields and more cattle. We're back to wooden houses on stilts. I sleep some more and arise at about 1230. We finally arrive in Laos' Capital, Vientiane at
1500. A sawngthaew (I mentioned these in Thailand - it's a small pick up truck/big tuk tuk with two benches facing each other in the back) cost us 15000kip (1.24 quid) each and took about ½ hour. We settled on a hostel with twin room, shared facilities, breakfast and afternoon coffee/cakes included for 80,000kip (6.60 quid). It's just been refurbished - in fact we have to wait two hours whilst they finish furnishing the room! We shower and change then head off for a bite to eat at a nice little Mekong riverside restaurant.
Tuesday 03rd March OK then, Laos. Or, Laos PDR (People's Democratic Republic of Laos) as it is known. It's a landlocked country between China, Vietnam Thailand and Cambodia. Between 1964 and 1973 the USA flew 580,344 missions over Laos, dropping 2 million bombs costing $2.2 million PER DAY!! This makes Laos the most bombed country on the planet! Of the 2 million bombs dropped 700,000 failed to detonate and they still litter the country today. Today the USA spend just $5 million a year to help with the UXO (Un-exploded ordnance) problems, yet they spend a whopping $30 million per year trying to recover the
Thai Embassy
Queueing for a Visa bones from killed US soldiers in Laos. Why do people dislike the yanks? In fairness though, the money the US donate to help with UXO is wasted and the Laos government often reject it. A mine clerance expert is quoted as saying, "...........there are rooms full of metal detectors just sitting there. We've got more than we need............." On with today - A quiet one to have a look around and get our bearings. Went out for tea with David - an American guy we met on the bus from Hanoi. He seems a nice guy. He's in the drilling industry (minerals/gold/oil) and is taking time off whilst the economy is suffering. Went to the same place as yesterday with the nice river views.
Wednesday 04th March Today is RED hot. It must be at least 35degC. Asked some other travellers if they knew where there was a swimming pool. They directed us to one. It's a five minute walk from the hostel and costs 10,000kip (83p) each. Had a very spicey Laos curry for tea.
Thursday 05th March We changed some travellers cheques today - like going back in time! You need your maths heads on for
Steak Night!
That's mine on the barbecue at the front. this bit. The exchange rate that we're using is 12,100kip per pound as this is the rate that my Nationwide bank account is giving. We bought US$ cheques back in May at 52p per dollar and nowadays the rate is about 71p per dollar so we're making about 20p per dollar! We changed 156 quid ($300) and recieved 2,538,756kip. At today's rate we should have only got 1,887,600kip so we made 651,156kip profit (54 quid) which is FAB! Next job was to walk to the Thai Embassy. We went past That Dam (black stupa) and along to Patuxai which is Vientiane's version of the Arc de Triumphe, also known as the Victory Monument and Anusawali, it commemorates the Lao (people from Laos) who died in pre-revolutionary wars. It was built in 1969 using cement donated by the USA to build a new airport. Was it Noah that said, "Why build an airport when you can build an Arc?" The Thai Embassy has moved but a guard at the gates gave us the new address and a map. As we entered the Embassy we were given numbers, 356 and 357 which was our order in the queue. "Number 224 please," said
the loudspeaker. Ah well, only 122 to go. It took about one hour so we filled in the paperwork and attached the photos and got everything ready. We saw a sign that said, "As from 05th March all Tourist Visas are free." Hang on, 5th March - that's today! Our number gets called and it's all true - we can have a 60 day visa for FREE! And after all that messing about in December when we could only get 15 days, then had pay for a seven day extension, then do a visa run for another 15 days - it cost us a fortune, and all because the bloody Thais got greedy and decided they didn't need backpackers, they want the two week holidaymakers with disposable income. Well guess what Mr. Thai President - you DO need us you ass! Still, I suppose he learned from his mistake and re-instated free visas. We're just happy we got something for free! We then have to join another queue to get a receipt. This takes another hour. We have to pick up the visas tomorrow. Next stop was Pha That Luang which is the most important monument in Laos - a
BUCKET BAR
It is at it sounds. symbol of Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignity. It all started in 3rd Century BC - My God (or Buddha), that's 2300 years ago! Ashokan missionaries from India built a stupa that enclosed a bit of Buddha's breastbone. We walked back via Wat Si Saket which we couldn't be bothered with. It must be 35 - 40degC again - probably as hot as I've EVER experienced, and I've had a few hot days at work I can tell you! We also passed the Presidential Palace. Went out for a few pre-dinner drinks overlooking the river. It was very nice and relaxing!
Friday 06th March I was
well ill this morning. I would have happily taken my own life if I could! A bit of background - I haven't had a poo since the 21st February,
that's 13 days!! I felt like I was pregnant before bed last night. I woke up at about 0815 with really painful stomach ache and needing to vomit (Did you hear about the dyslexic alcoholic? He choked on is own vimto). I got to the bathroom and crouched over the bowl, sweat dripping from my face and back. It was then that I decided I
Tubing
It's like this but down a river rather than a snowy mountain needed a poo, so I sat on the throne - but then I wanted to spew. I couldn't win so I sat on the loo and leaned over the shower so I could do both at once! I spewed first, but crapped practically simultaneously - a big, thick, long tree trunk of a thing - it damn near split me in two! A little more sick followed. As I was resting and contemplating on how on earth something that size could have been inside me I had a little more stomach pain, followed by a second
monster of a poo - about the size of a 500ml bottle of coke. No wonder I felt ill. More relaxing was required - I needed to gather my thoughts. Then, out of nowhere, a third movement. About three pints worth of very loose, gravy-like liquid. It was like crapping a bicycle chain - and worse - we didn't have a fridge to keep the bogroll in so it was standard issue, room temperature paper. Back to bed for a rest! In the afternoon we went to pick up our Thai visas. We're told its 60 days but there are no dates on it.
Swinging from a tree
Tubing in Vang Vieng Lets just wait and see what happens. Went out for a posh meal. 67,000kip (5.50 quid) for salad/soup, steak and spuds, and fruit salad. It was a posh place but we decided to treat ourselves. We also got hot, fresh bread with garlic butter - which we ate in about five minutes so they brought more out. Water was included and the food barbecued in front of our eyes. It was amazing and well worth the money.
Saturday 07th March Spent the day by the pool. Thai curry and steamed rice overlooking the Mekong for tea.
Sunday 08th March Another quiet chill out day. Went back to the steak restaurant from Friday - it was just amazing the second time round!
Monday 09th March We were planning on leaving today but we've seen loads of adverts for "Women's Day" and loads of places will be closed. It's a poor excuse but we used it to stay a bit longer! Went to the pool again.
Tuesday 10th March We stayed again. We can't be bothered to pack and it's cheap enough here. Because of the free breakfast and late afternoon coffee and cake we're not spending any
Aimee + Vodka = FUN
Tubing in Vang Vieng money on food during the day. Spent the day by the pool and later decided we couldn't be bothered to pack again so we're staying tomorrow too. I stayed up and watched Liverpool teach Real Madrid a lesson in football, 4 - 0 on the night, 5 - 0 on aggregate.
Wednesday 11th March Another day at the pool then finally packed our bags. We had red curry for tea - overlooking the Mekong again. The moon was incredibly red. I've heard about a blood moon in poems and clever stuff like that, but never seen one. It was like a sunset in the night sky! Sadly, as we've eaten here before I didn't have the camera with me. You'll just have to take my word that it was incredible. Later watched Man Utd vs Inter Milan, 2 - 0 to United, then watched the extra time of the Roma vs Arsenal game. I couldn't be bothered to stay up for the penalties but Arsenal won! Got to bed at about 0530...........
Thursday 12th March ..............till 0730 to get sorted for the 0930 bus. Finished packing then had our free breakfast (obvioulsy). We then walked up to the
Mud fight!
Tubing in Vang Vieng bus station. The bus is 30,000kip (2.48 quid) and takes three to five hours to get to our next destination, Vang Vieng. It left on time at 0930. It's a very old, battered bus with faux-leather bench seats, open windows and rotating fans hanging from the ceiling. We get the last two seats so we're sat on the rear wheel arch and are a bit short of legroom (ie. there isn't any). We're sat behind two local lads, about twenty-ish, and they're getting a bit close to each other for me! At first I thought they must be "good with colours" (if you know what I mean), but then I remember the personal space issue. They don't have one in Laos - it's perfectly acceptable for a stranger to rest his hand on your leg, or to lean on you and fall asleep. Luckily I'm sat next to Aimee. It's a nice drive through Lao (you only say Laotian when you refer to the language - everything else is just Lao) countryside, lots of active (therefore wet) paddy fields and also equal numbers of dry, unused paddy fields. We're unsure if there's been a drought or if the land owners
Lao Countryside
Whilst out on the bikes can't afford to plant anything this year, or even if they've already harvested these fields and are currently fallow (who would have thought back in 1991 when learning about crop rotation in a non-descript classroom in Burnley, the bespectacled young fellow staring out of the window at the goings on in the back of the firestation would ever re-use the word, "fallow?" Job well done Mr. "Paddy Mac" Mckiernan) As we get into the middle of nowhere our bus breaks down. It seems the engine has overheated so to fix it the driver pours a few gallons of riverwater over it for about 40 minutes before we're off and ready again. We pass several villages with wooden houses built on stilts about 7 - 8 feet off the ground. This is so that the shady area beneath can be used for sitting, eating, and even sleeping in the hot, dry-season months. As we get nearer Vang Vieng the road becomes steeper and more windy and we notice more of a karst landscape, very similar to Tam Coc and Halong bay in Vietnam. We arrive in Vang Vieng at about 1400 and catch a tuk tuk the 4km into town. We
Another temple
in Luang Prabang find a hostel for 60,000 (4.96 quid) per night with private bathroom and riverside balcony. It's West facing as well so we should get nice sunsets. We have a quick look around (and got lost) then retired for a siesta - I deserve it after only seven hours sleep in the last 54! It's then time for vodka and cokes on the balcony before heading to "Bucket Bar," a Vang Vieng institution, famed for it's plastic buckets filled with whiskey based enjoyment (and only 10,000kip which is 83p). Everyone here is Wasted (with a capital W)! Basically people drink all day by the river, which we're doing tomorrow, then continue into the night. We went home early(ish) and I must admit, I feel a bit tipsy!
Friday 13th March Thanks to the vodka and whisky we have a lie in. We get up at about 1200. I'm not well! We postpone the tubing till tomorrow and head out for a walk. We bump into a couple we met briefly in Vientiane. They're called Howard and Nicky and they work in Bars in Cyprus. They introduce us to a couple of guys they're sat with, Pete and Jackie (as in
Chan) that they've met here. Apparently Pete is Howard's brothers mate from home! We sit and chat most of the afternoon. They've been tubing already and are going again tomorrow so we arrange to meet them at 1200. We spend sunset on our balcony then popped out for a meal - rice soup with duck, red curry, steamed rice and the biggest plate of steamed veg you've ever seen!
Saturday 14th March Going tubing today. Basically it's floating down a river on an inner tube stopping off at bars on the way. There's no electricity today so it's cold showers all round. We meet Howard, Nicky and Pete, as well as a Dutch couple we were on the bus from Vientiane with (we bumped into them late yesterday), Denny and Yvette. We have been told that there is no point getting a tube at this time of year as the river is too low - we can swim or even walk between the pubs. That's OK because it saves us 120,000kip (9.91 quid) and means we don't have to be back for 1800 to return them. The tuk tuk is just 10,000kip (83p) and takes about ten minutes. We
arrive at the first bar to deathly silence! We didn't think! There's a power cut and so no music (or fridge to keep beer cold). Beer should be 12,000kip but we negotiate to 10,000kip due to the lack of music and fridge. It's kept in an ice box though so temperature wise it's perfect. FREE shots of whisky are dished out everywhere you look (my GOD man it's only 1200) and even places you don't. We take a seat at the edge of the decking. It's far more puropse-built than I expected. It is literally bar after bar along the riverside with wooden scaffolding supporting decking above the rocks. There are trapeze style swings and zip-wires to slide down into the river and they are WELL high! Rumours abound of "a girl broke both her legs yesterday," and, "last week a guy died," but we dont let that put us off. Various people joined our "group" throughout the day (we must have looked cool), so we rolled 10 deep with Iain and Isla from Scotland and Crazy Terry joining us. (Must tell the story of Crazy Terry. He just came over to Pete and asked him to hold his beer.
Night Market
Getting a meat fix before the Vegetarian Buffet! He then says, "I'm on my own so I'm going to go up there and swing from my feet. That way people will think I have some crazy stories to tell and come and talk to me." Pete agrees then says to us all, "If he falls, we don't know him and I'll keep his beer. If he survives he can come round with us for the day." Terry went ahead and swung from his feet and therefore spent the rest of the day with us. It was funnier if you were there!) So, we spent the day swimming, frolicking, and swinging (from the trees, cheeky) and primarily, drinking. Met everyone at the Aussie Bar later and met another couple, Mick and Danielle. We watched Man Utd vs Liverpool but I can't remember it. I DO remember that we said we'd do it all again tomorrow but with the added, atmosphere enhancing music!
Sunday 15th March Popped out for a sandwich and a bottle of Lao Lao. Lonely Planet states, "Lao Lao is a popular drink among lowland Laos. Strictly speaking Lao Lao is not legal though nobody seems to care." We're taking it with us tubing so Aimee
can mix it with coke or pineapple shakes to save money. We meet everyone at 1200 and head off. There's nine of us today. We've lost the Dutch couple and crazy Terry and have been joined by Mick and Danielle. We have a few drinks and swings in the first bar before heading down to "Whiplash Bar," so called because of its aerial slide/zip-wire. The mission is to keep hold until the end and if you do the slide stops and you don't. This results in an unprepared backflip and severe kneck jerk! Rather dangerous but good fun. Howard demonstrates, I follow and escape unharmed. Iain hurts himself (he thinks he's cracked a rib) and another guy dislocates his shoulder. We basically carry on drinking and swinging like yesterday, though today we have a mud fight as well. Back in town we shower and change and meet everyone for drinks and food.
Monday 16th March Took bikes out today to go and see some caves. It cost us 10,000kip each and then 6,000kip each to cross the river. We then cycled over extremely hard, bumpy terrain till we arrived at the caves. It's another 10,000kip to get in the
Nong Khiaw
Aimee and a paddy field site, then we have to rent a torch and pay for a guide! We decide not to bother. Overall it would cost us 82,000kip (6.78 quid) for the two of us. We got bikes out for a cheap day! They're just greedy!! We cycle back to town and decide to head to the bus stop to find out times/prices up to Luang Prabang. On the way we bump into Pete who says, "It's St. Patricks Day tomorrow. Do you wanna go tubing again?" We don't know so we decide to discuss it on the way to the bus station. After about a 15 second conversation we decide that we will. The bus is 70,000kip (5.80 quid) each and we don't need to pre-book we can turn up on the day.
Tuesday 17th March St. Patricks Day.
We went tubing - refer to 14th and 15th March then add more booze!
Wednesday 18th March We're supposed to be up at 0730 to get the bus to Luang Prabang. We can't be bothered though so we lie in and chill. We'll
definately go tomorrow. Piping hot chicken and rice soup, a plate of steaming vegetables, steamed rice, garlic bread and
Nong Khiaw
Me and a paddy field a pork/pasta concoction for tea!
Thursday 19th March Up at 0745 then get ready to leave. Spend about 40 mins trawling town to find Aimee a boiled egg sandwich - nothing else will do! Tuk tuk to the bus station for 5,000kip (42p) each and we're told the bus is full. I have a right go at the bus station guy. "You told us to be here half an hour before and we buy a ticket from you!!" 15 minutes of arguing later and basically we have no choice but to pay extra (suprise huh?) and catch a minibus. This costs us 80,00kip (6.60 quid) each. We left at 0930 and arrived at about 1530. It was a HELL of a journey! The whole six hours was up and down, round and round, tight, steep corners! We've done some bad journeys, particularly in Bolivia, but this was awful! We have to tuk tuk to town from the bus station, 10,000kip each, then hostel hunt. It's pretty expensive here. Lots of posh hotel dwellers with lots of money around. We settle for a double with private bathroom for 70,000kip but soon discover the hot water doesn't work. We have to
move to a nearby room (same hostel) with shared bathroom for 60,000kip (4.96 quid). We shower and change then head to the night market. There is a vegetarian buffet for 5,000kip per plate. I stack mine as high as possible. It was nice, it just lacked..............MEAT!!!
Friday 20th March Luang Prabang is a UNESCO protected World Heritage City and is apparently, "the most sophisticated, photogenic city in the whole of South East Asia." This makes it full of package tourists with an unlimited budget. Not great for us! First job on is to move hostels! We were woken at 0630 by singing and hammering. The circular saw started at 0700. By 0800 I'm up, out of the door and searching for alternatives. I find two that will do and settle on the one quite close to the one we're in already. I head back to pack and get Aimee. I've made the executive decision we're not paying for last night. First we had to move rooms and second we had the noise this morning. We expect a "chat" but end up just walking straight out of the door unimpeded. Just as we got to the reception of our next
Aimee's sick days
NOTE the squatter!!! hostel, the guy catches up with us. I explain our problem and he doesn't care. "Not my problem. I go Police!" Fine by me. "Off you go then!" so off he trots up the road. We can't stop here now though - he knows where we're staying! A passing tuk tuk pulls over to give us a lift. We decline in case he is in-on-it and will take us to the cops, but as he pulls up the hostel owner comes running back down the street to try and get us to pay again. We realise that he isn't going to the Police after all. I remember that he hasn't registered us in his guesthouse anyway (in Laos it is the law to fill in an arrival card with passport details and Laos Visa Number etc.) so we can deny ever being there and he hasn't got a leg to stand on! We do a bit of backstreet wandering to make sure we're not being followed and arrive at hostel option 2. It's 80,000kip (6.60 quid) for a double with shared bathroom. It's very nice and cosy and more importantly, quiet! We head off to do the sights and information-gather
for onward travel. As we mentioned earlier it's really expensive here. Temples are 20,000kip (1.65 quid) each to get in and for what? A quick, two minute look around before you head off to the next one. Two temples at that price is the same as an overnight stay for both of us or 16 vegetarian buffets! We blagged a few by saying we didn't want to go
in the temple just look around the outside but not all of them would let us. Still, we saw plenty of temples and plenty of monks! We also strolled by the rivers for a while. We're planning on leaving tomorrow for Nong Khiaw and from the tourist information office we establish there are three morning buses that should cost 38,000kip (3.14 quid) each. The private tour offices want 70,000kip (5.80 quid) each so we'll take our chances at the bus station. Another look around the night market where I bought a "meat" skewer then vegitarian buffet again - why not for 5,000kip (41p) each for as much as you can carry!
Saturday 21st March Up at 0715, shower and change then off to the morning market for a fresh baguette. They're
Kuangsi Falls
Near Luang Prabang amazing! 10,000kip (83p) for cheese, ham, bacon and salad. The cheeky butty lady "knows a man with a tuk tuk" and tells us he'll take us to the bus staion for 10,000kip each. That's fine by us (it should be 15,000kip each) so we accept. We must admit, that's a clever bit of business from the butty lady. Good work. At the bus station an ill prepared scamster asks us where we're going. "Nong Khiaw," we reply. He points to his bus and says, "Get in." We ask him, "How much?" to which he replies, "Don't know. Quick! Get in!" We say, "You don't know how much? No thanks Mister. Jog on!!" We go to the real ticket office and get tickets for the real bus for 35,000kip (2.90 quid) each, leaves at 0900 and should take four hours. It's a 19 seater micro-bus with quite comfy seats and of course, open windows. We're pleased as it is
exactly the same bus that we would have got for 70,000kip from the private tour offices - they even told us we would have to make our own way to the bus station. We leave on time and soon enter Lao countryside.
TARZAN
Kuangsi Falls They practice "slash and burn" agriculture here so we're seeing lots of fires around us and we're even driving through smouldering fields. We soon fall asleep though! After about three hours we pull up at a dusty little shanty town with a couple of street stalls selling stuff to travellers. We assume this is the bus drivers "commission stop" (where he gets commission for dropping his passengers off at the shops). We head off to find a toilet. As we're over the road we notice the driver unloading everything from the bus. Aimee continues toilet negotiations, I go to see what's going on. We still have an hour to go and a nearby sign says, "Welcome to Ngoi Neua." That makes sense. We know Ngoi Neua is about an hour away from Nong Khiaw because we want to go there later. The driver tells us, "This is Nong Khiaw," then drives off! Well, lets hope it is then! I wait for Aimee so she can keep an eye on our things then head into the Post Office which has a "Ngoi Neua Post Office" sign above the door. We're in the sticks now so there's no map in Lonely Planet so I have to point at the written words,
Nong Khiaw and
Ngoi Neua and with lots of grunting and pointing we establish that this IS Nong Khiaw. Still not sure what the Ngoi Neua signs are all about though. We find a nice, private riverside bungalow for 50,000kip (4.13 quid) a night. It has hot water but only a "squat" toilet (they don't have "sit" toilets in this part of the world).
Squatting is an ancient practice, but knowledge of it has recently been lost in the West. While most of us in Europe sit, people on just about every other continent squat, using water and their left hand. In much of Asia you can be hard-pressed to find anything else besides the squatter. We settle in and go for a look around town. It nestles on both the banks of the Nam Ou river with a road bridge between the two sides. It is towered over by limestone karsts and there are fires visible in the distance (from slash and burn). It's very basic and "third world" with wooden huts and kids playing roadside in the dust, but there are a few tourist things such as a "Movie Bar" and guesthouses with "Western" restaurants. There is no bank though. The Post Office will change cash but not Travellers Cheques so we're on a real tight budget as we only have the remainder of the $300 we changed in Vang Vieng on the 16th. After accommodation has been deducted we have about 75,000kip (6.20 quid) a day for the two of us. There are hundreds of butterflies and equal amounts of "slivers" (is that the right word?) of ash from the fires spiralling around. There is a light, blue haze which covers most of Laos so rocks/cliffs/hills in the distance appear almost blurred. This however makes for an amazing sunset - a real, deep red fireball in the sky and reflecting back up from the river. Probably the best sunset I've ever seen (have I said that somewhere before?). It's like a painting but sadly, as usual the camera can't pick up what the eye can see. Once the sun goes down the cicadas come out and the whole village seems to be surrounded by their incessant buzzing
There are two streetlights, one at each end of the bridge and bits of light escaping from huts, guesthouses and shops but apart from that it's dark. We have a cheap curry for tea, 40,000kip (3.30 quid) for the two of us, including drinks, then sit on the pitch dark balcony listening to "nature."
Sunday 22nd March Had a bit of a lie in then off for a walk to Than Pha Tok - a cave where villagers hid during the 2nd Indochina War (which we call the Vietnam War). The caves themselves are nothing specatacular but the walk is great. It takes us out of the village and through working farmland and "real" Laos (the Country) and Lao (the people). As we're walking back Aimee starts to feel "all funny." We pass people taking baths and washing clothes in a roadsise stream but we daren't take photo's in case they think it rude. When we get back to the bungalow Aimee showers then has a lie down. I watch another spectacular sunset from our balcony. I head out to buy some paracetamol and return about an hour later succesful. Aimee decides she's welll enough to go for food, but only to look at a menu and we'll get take-away. She sticks to easy-on-the-stomach chicken and rice (which unfortunately came smothered in an oily sauce). She is then up once or twice each hour
all night with the squits - and remember, we only have a squatter!!!!
Monday 23rd March And the squits continue all day (I wrote this at 1535 and she's just gone again!) It's still coming as regularly as two to three times an hour! We cancel our plans to head to Muang Ngoi Neua which is an even more backward town with no road (you go by boat), and no electricity (and therefore no hot water either). We've decided on another lazy day here tomorrow to recover then back to Luang Prabang on Wednesday. Aimee is on a 24 hour fast and stays in bed so I go out and eat alone. She was still poo-ing when I got back and continued throughout the night!
Tuesday 24th March Aimee feels a bit better today but still not 100%! (MISSING)We popped out for brunch. Aimee went for an omelette and a freshly baked baguette. I went for a Traditional Laos Farmer's Breakfast which was omelette, sticky rice and chilli dip, morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica, known as water spinach, is popularly used as a green vegetable especially in East and Southeast Asian cuisines) and cucumber. It was WELL good! We head straight back to the bungalow for Aimee to squat. Spent the day chilling then take-away on the balcony again.
Wednesday 25th March Bit of a lie in then off to catch the 1100 bus. We buy our tickets and wait. By 1130 there's still no sign of any buses so I ask the guy at the ticket shed. He points to a sawngthaew that has been there about 20 minutes and is full to bursting with people and luggage. "It full" he says. I argue about the fact he told us we were getting a bus. I of course get nowhere. Next argument is the fact that it's full. I point to his paperwork where at the top of his list, No. 1 and No. 2 = Henaghan/Wood. Eventually he ejects a couple of farmer ladies so we can fit in. It's still overcrowded though (but hey, that's travelling). By the time we leave, one hour late at 1200, the 14 seater sawngthaew has 24 of us packed into it. I'm given a plastic children's chair to sit on in between the two facing benches in the back. Lucky we packed the blow-up pillows (thanks for the tip Mr. Lee Griffiths, who incidentally is a Welsh guy that wants to be English). Three hours later we arrive at Luang Prabang's Northern Bus Terminal. After a brief chat (to gather information for onward travel to Huay Xai in a few days) we get a tuk tuk into town and head to the hostel we stayed in on 20th March. We even got the same room. Cheap vegetarian buffet take-away for tea.
Thursday 26th March Went to see Kuangsi Waterfalls today. It cost 50,000kip (4.13 quid) each for return transport then 20,000kip (1.65 quid) each to get in. First we looked around a bear sanctuary which rescues and breeds Asian Black Bears. Next we walked past the falls to the top which in hindsight wasn't worth it. The falls themselves are multi-tiered and tumble over limestone formations into turquoise-green pools. We have a cool down and a dip, and I have a go on a tarzan swing. All in all a good day. As we laid in bed later, Aimee's stomach was playing up again - badly! We decided to postpone tomorrow's long journey and concentrate on her getting better!
Friday 27th March My Mum's birthday. Unfortunately at the moment she is uncontactable (she has no phone or internet just now) so we just had to think about her! Took a very long chill out and relax.
Saturday 28th March Today we had a very long and traumatic trip to Chiang Rai, Thailand. I'm gonna leave you in suspenders though and let you wait till the next installment...........................
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whitepointer
lou cypher
get out of the city
Laos is great provided you get out of the capital city. It is so boring in the capital. Or at least i thought so.