Laos and the Mekong River

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Our last night in Chiang Mai was in a beautiful wood guess house but basic it was! Our sheets lookedlike they had seen better days and we had to pour a bucket of water down the loo to flush it. Out shower was also positioned above the toilet. Oh well at least we could have killed two birds with one stone (shit, shave and shower :-) In the morning we crossed the Mekong river from the Thai border to the Laos border. Exiting Thailand was straight forward enough but getting into Laos was a very painful process (leaving passports with Immigration for half an hour and getting shortchanged by the exchange desk). Anyway once through we got straight on another boat for our 2 day journey down the Mekong river into Luang Prabang which we arrived a few hours ago.

The boat journey was very relaxing, passing mountainous jungle and the odd hill tribe (some of which we visited). I (becka) know i'm not the cleanist person in teh world but oh they were dirty! On the boat the toilet was better than that of the guest house but you did have to wear shared flip flops (toe juice) and pour a bucket to flush it and then having to eat your lunch with your fingers (traditional Laos style!). We got to the next guest house and paid very small people to carry our bags for 25p. I thought my bag carrier would break his back but they are very strong and will do nearly anything for money. Suited me just fine! This guest house was much better. It had clean sheets and a flush on the loo. We all went out to dinnerin this sleepy town which had one shop and two restuarants. Simon had buffalo and squid whilst I had tofu and veg. The next day I was glad I had veg and Simon was regretting his buffalo (thank god for that flush!). Our local guide is a vegi as well and was telling me about Laos and Vietnamese people and what they eat. They eat anything that moves and has a heart. He said that they beat the buffalo over the head until it dies and it makes awful noises! Bad simon!!! He also said that they beat the dogs over the neck until they die as they do not want them to bleed out because they believe the dogs blood keeps them warm (take the bloody dog for a walk, that will keep you warm!) Oh how I am not looking forward to seeing littlest hobo being eaten. We stopped off at another hill tribe village today. The children love you taking pictures of them and then showing them the photo. Met a lady who could crouch better than a yoga master and she was 90 years old! I (becka) tried telling all the animals in the village to run for their lives but they wouldnt listen. Neally kidnapped a puppy but thought better of it.

We are now staying in a really nice guest house for 3 days, giving us the chance to finally do our laundry and any other chores and just take a bit of a breather as it has been all go. We had a vege all you can eat buffet type thing from a street vendor which cost about 25p and was yummy, Becka even going as far as to say it was her best meal yet. Beer is cheap, a massive bottle (like those big ones you see at Sainsburys) costs about 50p. Only problem is Laos money is all in thousands so between the both of us we are now actually millionaires!

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Comments

[Gary Stacey]

Buffalo/dog
I'm quite partial to buffalo myself. Mind you, yours was probably dog as well, I imagine beating a buffalo to death would be hard work!