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Published: November 20th 2007
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Man Down!
This was the result after my trip from Pai to Chang Rai......like I said, I can't explain it now, but a photo of me finding comfort amoungst bags on the concrete street at 4am sums it up quite nicely. Heeeeeeelo Ladies! Yes, that's right, roll up, roll up, form an orderly que............Rob Smith is a millionaire!
I should, however, probably point out that this is unfortunately not due to any kind of substantial windfall having come my way, and my premium blonds are yet to kick in........... rather it's largely due to..... ok completely due to, the fact that out here one of my fine British pounds buys me 20 000 Lao Kipp, but this is a minor detail so ladies, form that orderly que.
After the motorcross fun from Pai
(Evil Knievel) , Greg and I headed further to the north of Thailand to the city of Chang Rai. I won't go into the details of the journey between these two places, just believe me.........it was an experience I never wish to repeat, it made the journey to Siem Reap in Cambodia seem like luxury. All I can say is that it involved a tiny minibus, 16 other people, me and Jabba the hut.... it's a story better told in person.
There's not a great deal to say on Chang Rai, a nice city but nothing special. Greg and I rented mopeds and visited some of the local attractions
Money Money Money!
I'm a big timer now! including the pretty cool 'white temple'. It was from Chang Rai that Greg and I then parted company, I headed to Laos and he headed to...........England. Greg made the decision to fly from Chang Rai to Bangkok to Dubai to London........and back again so he could go to graduation. Not so eager to rush back to England to sit around for 2 hours before walking across a stage for 30 seconds I headed into Laos where Greg would meet me a week later. The most common way into Laos from the north of Thailand is to catch a bus to the border and from there catch the 'slow boat' to Luang Prabang, so this is what I did. The aptly named 'slow boat' leaves from Hauy Xai in the north of Laos and takes two days to arrive at Luang Prabang stopping for one night at a small village en-route. The hard wooden bench seat that I sat on for six hours on day one definitely didn't get any softer during the 7 hours on the following day. The beautiful scenery down the Mekong also began to appear quite repetitive after the first hour or so, still, it was a
Money Money Money!
You're probably wondering where my tan is after 4 months of traveling.........yeah, so am I good experience and I met a cool group of Chillian girls to hang out with and with whom to share digs with once in Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is nice, but I was surprised by the number of tourists, quite a few families and older couples holidaying..........not a bad thing, just an observation. I planned to stay only a couple of days but I was fortunate enough to arrive the day before one of the biggest festivals of the year; The end of lent for the Monks. Everyday a few monks from the local temple walk through the streets of Luang Prabang to collect Alms from the public, like in any Buddist country; however, on this particular day ALL the monks came out to collect Alms. So I woke at ! 6am ! to witness this event, and it really was quite impressive to see the hundreds of Monks walking through the streets collection rice, money, snacks and other items from the masses of people who had woken to pay their respects.
In the main cities of Laos; Luang Prabang and Vientienne the end of lent is celebrated by the people with a boat race. Local villages compete against each
Money Money Money!
Yes ladies........the body is included in this little package ;) other racing long boats down the Mekong and it is a huge event that everybody turns out for. I spent a nice day there mixing it up with the locals, meeting some funny Aussie dudes and even bumping into a couple of Danish girls who I had met briefly in Chang Mai with Greg the week before. The following day I took a trip to the waterfalls........and yes, finally, after all my searches that had so far been in vain, I found some amazing waterfalls; several layers of crashing falls with turquoise waters and a couple of areas to swim in.......beautiful. That evening back in Luang Prabang centre the previous days festivities continued with a parade through the streets to the waters edge where home made boats carrying candles were put into the water. The point being that you send off a boat with all the bad things you regret doing that year ready to start with a new slate. I'm proud to say I was only at the waters edge for around ten minutes listing my bad points before sending off the boat.
Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention about Luang Prabang..............Everywhere i laos they are very
White Temple
Cool temple in Chang Rai strict on the fact that bars/clubs have to close at midnight, which obviously sucks for young travelers, especially when you first arrive into Laos and don't already know this. But Luang Prabang has it covered. When all the bars close and everybody is in good spirits and wants to carry the night on, what better place to go than.......................a Bowlig Alley. Yes, the only place that stays open until 3am is a ten pin bowling alley. So i was taken back to my teenage years by kicking ass at the bowling alley.
A great few days in luang Prabang..........next stiop:
Vang Vieng
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I wonder exactly how many germs are on that wad of money you have in your mouth. Nice! x x