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Published: June 29th 2010
Sorry it has been so long since our last update ... been busy.
From Chiang Mai we took a bus to the Thailand/Laos border (Chiang Kong-Huey Xai) and crossed over and stayed on the Laos side. The next morning we planned (and did) take the slow boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang (2 days travel). Despite ample warnings and advise to ONLY buy our ticket for the slow boat AT THE SLOW BOAT STATION we were duped and caught off guard by a travel agent at Laos immigration. Posing as an official he helped us fill out our paper work and get our visas and said if we wanted to take the slow boat tomorrow we should put our names on this list and pay him for the ticket. After asking him again and again if it was the same price as at the slow boat station we were satisfied and forked over our dough....not 30 feet from the immigration point we saw another travel agency offering the boat trip for much less. (This was very frustrating and pissed us off quite a bit (Sarah especially didn't like being lied to and ripped off)). Luckily, the next morning
when we confronted him we were able to recoup some of our lost funds (it seemed like he was expecting a showdown because he had a friend with him who dealt with the disgruntled travellers and spoke much better english).
Now on to the slow boat. Two days of slow. The first day our boat was....umm...basic? Looking around at all the boats we see some decked out with satelite, reclining seats, small refreshments etc. What do they put us on? This boat with tiny wooden benches with worn out cushions (oh and did we mention we had paid extra to reserve seats at the front??). Needless to say, it was much more comfortable to take the cushions off and just sit on the floor. The second day of the boat ride was much more comfortable - we got an upgrade! Reclining seats and half as many passangers...sweet!!! The scenery the whole way to Luang Prabang was very beautiful - very green and lush.
OK, So now we are in Luang Prabang. Our first night in Luang Prabang was spent cruising through the night market and having ridiculously cheap food for dinner. We shared one plate of (vegetarian, but
Bar @ the riverside
Can't really tell from this picture but there are bars on both sides of the river all the way down. They "go fishing" for customers.very tasty) street food that cost like $1.20 CAD. Amazing. The second day there we walked around and explored the city a little bit - and also survived the pouring rain. The architecture there is very unique - with much French colonial influence. That night we went out for drinks with an Irish couple that we had met on the slow boat and then went out to watch England play in the world cup. Our "drinking" ended a little prematurely, as there is an 11:30 pm curfew for all of Luang Prabang (though we did manage to stay in the bar a little past 11:30, we did have to wake the young guy up at the guest house to let us in). The next day we rose bright and early at 5am to go and buy rice to give to the monks. Each morning at dawn in Luang Prabang the monks walk the main street in single file and receive food from locals (and tourists). It was a great experience. That afternoon we jumped in a tuk-tuk with a few other travellers and went to a beautiful waterfall with swimming. The next morning we jumped on a cramped minivan and
headed to Vang Vieng.
So what can be said about Vang Vieng...Its main attraction is tubing down the river (lazy river styles) and stopping at the bars that line the way. It is cheap and great fun! There are swings and slides and ziplines into the river. We only managed to tube (or really swim) the one day and the second day we decided to get out of town and go for a hike. We meant to climb a mountain just on the other side of the river but couldn't find the path so we ended up at this really cool cave with a buddha statue inside.
The next morning (yesterday) we left Vang Vieng for Vientiene for fear of getting sucked into the world that is Vang Vieng (lots of partying and friends dvds in many restaurants on a mind numbing loop).
Today we just walked around Vientiene - a pretty quiet city all said and done. And tonight we grab the night bus south to Pakse.
From there we head to 4 thousand islands and then to Cambodia.
All for now - 1 minute left of internet...
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Debbie R. (mom)
non-member comment
Great to hear from you again after, what seemed to be, a long silence. We really missed your almost daily updates. G-20 is over so all the excitement in Toronto is over. I hope you got to view some of the street scenes from this past weekend's activities. Keep those notes and pictures coming. Hey Sarah, who is that guy with the beard in the picture? What was in the bucket? Love, Mom