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Published: March 14th 2013
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Sabaidee from Luang Prabang! Apologies for the lack of blogging recently, Laos doesn't really do internet...
So we left Thailand about 2 weeks ago, taking the slow boat along the Mekong from Houay Xay to Luang Prabang. The journey took 2 days, with a stopover in Pak Beng, where we had a rather surreal evening watching a Dutchman do some break dancing... The boat itself was pretty basic (although in comparison to later boats this was pure luxury), the seats had all been taken out of buses and someone had made a slight attempt to attach them to the boat (i.e no attempt at all). We passed the days by looking at the pretty scenery going past and playing ALOT of cards. We eventually made it to the beautiful city of Luang Prabang reasonably dry, with all our luggage and sore bums.
We spent about 3 days in the city which has lots to see and do. We climbed the 'Phousy' (hill) which is in the centre of the old city and has amazing panoramic views. On one of the days we decided to hire bicycles and were feeling rather pleased with ourselves that we chose to do it
on a cooler slightly overcast day. We explored the city, which is thankfully all flat and compact, and went to a Red Cross massage parlour that had been recommended by our guide books. The place looked a little bit dodgy and we were a little bit apprehensive to start with (the signs about blood donations teriffied Suzanne just a tad) but it turned out to be the best massage of our lives (so far)!! On our return journey, however, the heavens well and truly opened and we got drenched. We tried to take cover in the museum, however were denied entry due to our lack of appropriate clothing (Hannah's white shirt that had turned see-through probably didn't help our situation).
On our last day in Luang we took a weaving course at Ock Pop Tock, where we learnt how to weave a pretty silk placemat using the traditional methods. It took some hours but we all managed to produce a pretty reasonable piece of material! That evening we treated ourselves to a 'posh' meal at Tamarind restaurant where we sampled some of the local cuisine, such as water buffalo and Laos sausage. It was by far the best meal
we've had out here and only cost about 7 pounds each including drinks! BARGAIN.
Our journey north to Nong Khiaow was not quite as comfortable as our previous boating experience. We initially thought the boat we had thrown our bags onto was just for our luggage. However after some confusion it turns out we were expected to sit on a plank of wood crammed next to 18 other people for 8 hours...Considering this the journey was actually quite enjoyable, made more so by the fact our boat driver (Captain Underpants as we nickname him) kept whipping off his trousers at every available opportunity. One such occasion was when we had to go over some rough rapids and the boat's propeller fell off, so Captain Underpants promptly dropped trou and came to the rescue with his spare propeller. What a hero.
Our accommodation in Nong Khiaow was nice but basic (it had no sink or flushing toilet). It did have a balcony looking over the river and a hammock that we spent some of our time relaxing in. Other than relaxing we had a day where we hiked to a beautiful waterfall, had a jungle style lunch (looked a
bit like somebody had regurgitated their breakfast and wrapped it up in a banana leaf but it was surprisingly tasty!) and then kayaked back to Nong Khiaow. We weren't quite aware that this would take 2 hours in the midday sun, we were all slightly lobstered and very tired when we made it back.
We journeyed further north to the quite literally sleepy town of Muang Ngoi, where everybody seemed to sleep the whole time and we had to wake up various shopkeepers/waitresses in order to survive. The town itself is very small and the main road is a dirt track so there were hardly any cars (we saw 1 that the whole town were gathered around in awe). The electricity is only turned on for 3 hours in the evening, that is if the man in charge of the generator is awake and remembers to turn it on. We spent most of our time in the Riverside Restaurant where we took advantage of their happy hour cocktails (which made the owner rather excited and happy), although we did climb the 'mountain' to see the Phonay Cave and the view point which was definitley well worth the sweat and
negotiating the rickety bamboo ladders.
On our way back to Nong Khiaow our slow boat ran out of fuel, luckily another boat came along and kindly shared some of theirs so we didn't have to swim back. Once we were back in Nong Khiaow and settled in the same room as before we walked to the local caves, where locals and troops hid during the war. The caves were very impressive and our 15 year old guide told us some questionable historical facts about them. In the evening we had a traditional herbal steam bath at Sabai Sabai, which our skin very much appreciated.
We're now back in Luang Prabang after losing another propeller on the return journey (unfortunatley Captain Undies wasn't there to assist this time but a child with a hammer was on hand). Yesterday we visited the Kuang Si waterfalls and saw some really cute Sun Bears in the National Park nearby. The waterfalls were beyond beautiful with bright turquoise water and picturesque surroundings. In the evening we decided to experience an 'authentic' Laos night out at the bowling alley (this is the only place open after 11pm because there is a curfew due to
the city being a UNESCO World Heritage Site). It was really quite hilarious, particularly Hannah's lack of skill at bowling and the many drunken travellers who descended at 11.30...Our favourite person of the evening had to be San our tuk tuk driver who drove us there, waited for us later and played cards with us for a while. He made an attempt to teach us a Laos card game, but we've decided all Asian card games are just far too confusing. Overall the night was a great success, apart from the fact we were locked out of our guest house when we got back at 2.30am...Luckily after banging on the door for a while the owner (looking very dishevelled and not too happy) let us in so we didn't have to sleep on the steps outside!
Tomorrow we're getting the bus to Vang Vieng for some tubing fun! (Don't panic parents we will be careful)
Much Love,
Hannah, Suzanne & Taz xxxxxx
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Andrew Haddow
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Am I the only person commenting on these blogs? Good to know you\'re having a good time. Except for the 8 hours on a plank of wood. You\'ll appreciate British public transport all the more when you get back Staggering home at 2:30am in the morning is disgraceful, Bowling! No pun intended. I\'m on the side of the housekeeper.