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Published: February 7th 2016
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Our last night wasn't very peaceful until very late. At 10.30pm the Chinese group were still demanding extra blankets and shouting to each other up and down the stairwell, and arguing the toss over a couple of dollars here and there. We were in the middle of them, on floor 3. We were reading, so irritated but not annoyed. Yet. By 11.30 when we had stopped reading and wanted to sleep we were annoyed. Sam, dressed in very little, opened the door and SHHHHHHHD them, 3 times, very loudly. They did quieten down then and close their door, but the action had woken Sam up completely and she wasn't tired any more. This was not good!
In the morning I bumped my bag down the stairs, hoping to wake a few of them up, we had breakfast at 7, very prompt in case we had to fight for seat (no). Two of the Chinese guys appeared and were flummoxed by the menu. We could have helped out by using what we were eating to demonstrate what was on offer, but we didn't feel inclined. Noisy, complaining buggers! The car came for us at 7.30 and we were at the airport
in record time, as it is Tet today, and the roads were empty except for people on scooters buying their Tet cherry blossom(?) twigs. Lovely modern, clean and quiet airport, it's the best day of the year to fly.
Tiny plane, propellers and 4 seats across only. Nearly full, lots of farangs. Lao Airlines. Handy bits of sellotape sticking our snack box down, which we peeled off and used to attach our passport photos to our visa arrival forms. They did come round on the plane and give out VOA forms and immigration forms, so no need to panic if you haven't printed them off the Internet. You can do them on the plane and get straight in the line. Paid $36, job done painlessly. $1 of that is for a bribe of sorts, but there was an official sign saying 'admin fee' so we were placated by that. You queue and give your form with photo and passport to one lady. She hands it to the next man who processes it. Round to his queue and he hands it over, then you go to the third guy to pay. It is worth yomping off the plane and trying
to get ahead of the queue as it did move quite slowly and nearly everyone on the plane had to get a visa.
Now for transport! The choice was shared minibus for 50,000 each (£4) or try for a tuktuk. We tried for a tuktuk. There were a couple waiting, the guy said 80,000 for Ban Hoxieng (street name). We said 50,000. He said OK but wait for one hour (presumable for the next flight to come in). We said no and started to go back to the minibuses. He said OK, go now, wait 2 minutes and went back into the terminal. He was more than 2 minutes so back towards the minibuses, then he came out and we set off. I didn't have a great map, but knew more or less where the guesthouse was and more importantly, what the little road it was on looked like. He stopped after a while in a really wide road and got out. I knew it wasn't the right place, so we stayed put. Then he tried to say he'd misunderstood, got in and drove a bit further. Stopped and wanted us to get out. Still not right. I showed
him the address and we wouldn't budge. Stopped a third time and said it was the lane on the left. I still wasn't sure but it looked like i was expecting, and another tuktuk driver waiting there said he was right. It was. Lucky I stuck to my guns. We would have been stranded. Cheeky! Luckily we or rather I was prepared for this. Sam was impressed. She would have got out the first time!
We are in Hoxieng 1 guesthouse. Fairly low key greeting from the family. Not interested in seeing our passports, unlike Vietnam. We have a downstairs room. It's a bit gloomy with the worst view in the world (broken chair and sink!) but are moving upstairs today for 3 nights. A few mozzies in the bathroom, the first we've seen. $30 a night and no breakfast (normal here), not the cleanest. Chased drifts of fluff behind the bed with the hairdryer.
Went off for a walk round the peninsula and to find lunch. Our end of it is definitely the backpacker end, with the more upmarket places at the far end. The Mekong is about 40 metres away, at the end of the lane.
We had lunch in one of the little restaurants and were a bit surprised that the food is much more expensive than in Vietnam. Weather cool. Sad faces! There are fantastic photo opportunities but not so good in cloudy weather. We saw a spider in a web as big as your hand! Nice! Ended up in the long Main Street and got cash out. There are loads of atms. We went into a few travel agents to ask about a zip wire half day and VIP bus to Vientiane. They were all either really miserable (the cheapest one) or very expensive, so we didn't book anything. Going back to the miserable one today to get bus tickets at 150,000 (£12.71) for a 9 hour journey.
We walked back and the night market was just setting up. It is great. We bought a few things and when we went back out later it was even bigger. Looks stunning with all the colours, and some lovely artwork. We walk down a tiny lane at the side of our guesthouse. Lots of bowls of soup were being prepared, and we could see some monks sitting in a room with presumably the family
and it looked like they were praying together. Presumably then they fed the monks. As you can see, we weren't sure! Great photo opps but it would have been inappropriate. Photos of monks can only be taken at a discreet distance!
Had some happy hour drinks and spring rolls, walked back through the market and spotted a pharmacy. Always love to see what you can buy over the counter here. The pharmacy lady was in a very bad mood. Something had upset her bigtime. She shrieked at a poor, terrified little child who was standing trembling in the corner and then took off her slipper and threw it at a man. Not a customer We hoped. Decided the sleeping tablets could wait for another time, when things were calmer. So I put my notebook (where I had the word 'stillnox' written down to show her) away and we left.
This place has a really calm and relaxed atmosphere compared to Vietnam. There is very little traffic, people don't hassle you to buy things and there are monks everywhere. The plants and flowers reminded us of Bali, also Buddhist, same kind of feel about it. We like it a
lot.
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Karen
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Lovely to follow your travels
Have just found how to leave a comment. Have been following your blog, and you could write a book. Fascinating stuff, thank u. We are in London this weekend. Went to Fan Museum in Greenwich yesterday. Great. Love us xx