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Published: October 20th 2006
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So.... we made it to the Laos border, which is just across the Mekong river from Thailand, and were greeted by the most friendly immergration officer ever encountered. It actually only took 10 mins to get our visas and they now give out 30 day visas which is great for us as we want to stay 3 weeks. Houei Xai is the place you end up in and it is nothing more than one dusty street with guesthouses and shops along it. Someone had told us that Laos is like Thailand was 20 years ago and it is like stepping back in time just going over the river. The roads are aufull and anything imported is much more expensive. We checked into a guesthouse run by a woman who can only be described as a grumpy old bag, but the room was ok.
We then got our boat ticket for the journy that everyone who ends up in Houei Xai does. Houei Xai - Pak Ben - Luang Prabang, two days by slow boat. On the first day the boat was pretty cramped but we did get seats... not everyone was so fortunate though and some people had to sit
on the floor at the back. We then went for about 6 hours down the Mighty Mekong. The Mekong is the 12th longest river in the world and the 10th largest by volume. It starts in Tibet and runs through China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and is hugly important to the areas economy (not copied from the guide book honest!). It's also very beautiful. It's big and muddy and the banks are covered in jungle and dotted here and there with tiny villages. Because it's so big there are all sorts of whirl pools and rapids going on. Apparently there alos catfish the size of grizzly bears. I keep looking out for them, but alas they hide. The slow boat is a great way to see the river, if rather uncomfortable and at times a wee bit boring. However, from what I've head it's way better than using the roads.
Pak Ben is another dusty one street town. We stayed in a Guesthouse whoes resuraunt had an amazing view down the river. The night we were there we eat in a cafe that was lit by candle light. Sounds romantic but it was actually becuase they can't afford elecricity.
The man who ran it sat and talked to us. He was a monk for 10 years becuase when his parents divorced there was nowhere for him to go and his siblings were all aopted. The monastry is a pretty good bet for anyone like him as you get all expenses covered and get a good education. At some point he met an american woman who sponsered him though university. He now lives in Pak Ben and his wife is about to have there first baby. Interesting story I thought.
The second day on the boat was much more comfortable (different boat). We had to stop for a while as a storm passed over. It rained so hard you couldn't see the otherside of the river. We arrived in Luang Prabang about 5pm. I was amazed at how small and dusty it is considering it is the old capital. It feels very different and is our first country that I have never been to before. We have now found internet etc so it doesn't feel quite so 'out there' anymore. It does certainly have charm but is packed with tourists. Becasue there were about 100 people on the slow
boat we recognise half the people we walk past. We have also met a couple who were on the meditation retreat with us. Why don't all the other tourists go home? They spoil the view! hehehe only joking, I spoil it too.
Yesterday we went to see some Wats. They are different from thialand in that they are all much older, smaller and haven't been done up. This does give them more charm though even if they aren't so spectacular. We had a long chat to a young monk at one wat who rushed over to practice his english. He is a big Manchester United fan. We are learning a lot about the Premier League out here. People know so much about it. They also look quite awed when we say we've lived in Manchester.
Later we went up a hill with a Wat on top. Half way up there was a cerimony going on with lots of old monks and some Indian people. We found out that 50 years ago the Indian amassador had donated a bodi tree and this was his sucessor 50 years later.
We got to the top of the hil just in
time for the sunset. Beautiful! Packed with tourists and had to que for the best photo spot, but beautiful. Sam got some much better photos than me which will be on his blog soon.
Today we went on a trip to the Pak Ou caves. The boat journey was nice again, back up the mekong, but the caves where underwhelming, missable actually. The lower cave contains 2500 Buddha images which are all jumbled up and many are broken. The upper cave is dark and cool and has a little stupa inside. We did meet a bloke, and his wife ,who is a diplomat in Pakistan and from london, so had a good chat to them.
After lunch we went to the old Royal Palace which I really enjoyed. It's not used anymore as the communist party killed the royals some time ago. It's strange becuase it was built by the french so some parts look just like france. The french influence is very strong here actually and you can get baguettes, yes i said baguettes, on every street corner. Boules is alos popular and houses have french shutters.
There was also a modern art exhbition on which
had amazing photos and some good short films.
I think that is about it for now. Tomorrow we are going to try to get to a tiny town somewhere north of here to do some treking. Travelling here takes forever due to bad roads so I'll let you know how it goes.
Loads of love to all. Would be great to hear from people as I'm missing home at the moment.
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helen
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great to read your blog as Sam wasn't feeling like doing it. perhaps you could take it in turns! pPictures are good too. sounds like this is a bit less like the western world than your previous places, even if it does have lots of tourists and internet love Helen w