Slow boat down the Mekong

---

Got up early again after being woken up by cockerals going off at 4am. We met Europeans to go get tickets for the 2-day slow boat journey down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. After meeting some Italians and more English (thank god) we managed to bargain with the captian and charter our own boat the whole way for not much more than the normal ticket. We managed to get one for 18 people instead of the usual cattle cart of 80 where you can barely move around!

Left Houay Xai for Pakbeng, our overnight stopover. Floating along the Mekong was by far the best experience to date and a great way to see the river and the mountainous scenery of Laos. Having our own boat was definately worth it, we could sleep across the seats, sunbath of the front deck, and dangle our legs over the side to enjoy the scenery. Along the way we saw some hill settlements and the women were washing their clothes in the river. I wished that these were the kinds of places we had visited on our trek in Thailland.

We arrived in Pakbeng just before 6 and wandered down the street with the 2 english couples from the boat. Its a strange old town with very little there, seems purpose built just for the slowboats to stop over. Adam and the respective halves of the other couples checked a few places to stay and eventually we found a 'room'. I would've hated to seen the other places if this was the best! (But at least it wasn't the same place with a little Laos bloke outside who tried to offer us 'a little joy in his pocket'). The room was shabby at best, with rock hard beds you can get friction burns from, grey sheets and walls thin enough to hear the bloke at the end of the corrider coughing and farting as he woke up. It also only possessed two cockroaches (that we saw). On the plus side however, the town didn't have electricity so the generators were turned off at 10pm. The best part of the guest house was that the mad owner gave us some free Laos whisky shots which were foul! I found it all pretty amusing.

A quick cold shower later, we went for dinner with the other Brits. Found one place which we couldn't refuse - the menu board out front boasted 'whery good food. If you no like, you not paidy'. Had a nice buffalo curry and sticky rice.

Went to a bar later which seemed to run only by one Laos guy the same age as me. He only had one hand-written menu but proudly advertised we could play on his PS2 he only got 4 months ago. Halfway through our candelit beers, we were treated to quite possibly the world's most gay man in another party, standing up in the middle of the bar and belting out an 'Avais Maria' that Aled Jones would be proud of.

Luckily managed to find our guest house and bed by torchlight.

---