Laos

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Day 65

We awoke unnecessarily early the next morning as the minibus to the border actually didn't leave the guesthouse till 9:30am, an hour after we'd been told. There was a mad scramble for everyone to buy soft pillows to sit on, as the boat is notoriously uncomfy, but thankfully they managed to find enough for everybody in the end.

Crossing the Thai-Laos border was a simple matter of crossing from a village on one side of the river, to a smaller village on the other side. We had to get our visa and show our passports at the specified huts but there was clearly no border security control, people must be able to sail from one side of the river to the other all the time a little further downstream.

We finally borded the boat to Luang Prabang at 11:30 and had that pleasure till 6pm, with no breaks – everybody had had to bring packed lunch from the guesthouses or buy pot noodles on the boat. The boat was severly overcrowded, with perhaps only 75% of people actually getting seats, everybody else just piled in on the floor. However, retrospectively, it now seems like they might have got the better deal as they had far more leg room than those of us sitting on the rigid, upright seats. Thankfully though the scenery was stunning all the way along the river and it was a great chance to meet people so time passed fairly quickly.

In the evening the boat stopped at a small village called Pak Beng and everybody piled off the boat and went off in search of guesthouses. Thankfully we found a place not too far from the dock, that had a huge communal balcony with a great view of the Mekong River. We also got lucky with our choice of evening restaurant, where a small group of us from the boat enjoyed huge portions of tasty food and also generous servings of the local Lao Lao Whisky. One of our friends from the boat, Sanjeev, was getting quite frustrated as he knew that his degree result, from Oxford, would now be available online but we couldn't find anywhere with internet access. The whole town closed down at around 11pm when all the electricity generators turned off and everybody was left to find their way back to bed in the dark.

Day 66

We were back on the slow boat by 9am in the morning for another long stint, but thankfully managed to get seats which were a little bit better with more leg room this time, however the boat was still hugely overcrowded, with not enough life jackets by far, this is one of the clear health & safety differences between asia and back home.

We arrived into Luang Prabang about 4pm and from the water it seems so small, for what is actually the second biggest city in Laos. It really is very pretty though, sitting right on the river and full of old french colonial architecture. We settled on a cheap guesthouse as we just wanted to quickly jump in the shower and then get out to see the town, but as we were told there had been a National power cut until 6pm so we had to wait a little while. Apparently national power cuts are quite frequent here and can last for days a time, apparently they have even lost the internet for weeks at a time.

We spent the evening with friends wandering around the night market, which was so laid back, compared to the haggling and shouting that you find in Vietnam and Thailand. Then we sampled a few bars and though our friends were heading home we decided to go check out the local bowling alley. As there is an 11:30pm curfew in the town the bowling alley gets pretty lively at night as it is the only place allowed to continue serving alcohol. We had a great game, there were strikes for each of us and Joe edged the win by a single point. However we won't be sharing the final totals as drinking too many beer Lao before starting to play meant we both put in rather inept performances...

Day 67

We woke up late this day because of the over indulgences the night before. We headed out for some food and grabbed a really nice bowl of noodles and beef near to the hostel we were staying. Then from there we decided to have another nap so went back to the hostel and chilled for a little longer.

After having another little sleep we awoke very refreshed and ready for what was left of the day. However, to our disappointment it was raining really hard so that meant we went back to the hostel and read for a little longer.

That night we went to a restaurant we had seen the previous night which sells a strange kind of Thai BBQ dinner. This dinner is a collinder turned upside down with a coal fire underneath to cook raw meat on. Around the edges was a moat with seasoned water in that you could add vegetables into and spices. In total this made for a do-it-yourself meat and soup dish that you could make to your taste. Asia seems to provide you with many bland meals with spices all over the table to add to your own taste.

After the meal we headed for a local bar and met a nice couple from london due to the rain and the open seat policy that allows the people organizing where people sit and are allowed to sit strangers on the same table if there is no room on another.

Day 68

The next day we were up bright and early to go and see some caves and a waterfall that we had booked the previous day.

The cave was first and involved a long boat ride up the Mekong river with a few other people in the boat. There was not much conversation as most people were looking at the scenery and Joe was reading Catch 22.

When we finally got to the caves which were accessed directly from the Mekong river, they were good. They had lots of tiny Buddhas in and there was a really dark cave (they told us to bring a flash light) with a giant Buddha in. There was quite a few steps there and joe made his feelings felt about a woman selling tiny birds in an almost suffocating cage.

After leaving the cave we then headed back to Luang Prabang and had a quick bite to eat before heading off to the waterfall. At the waterfall there was a rope swing and you could also dive off the top. This was great and entertained joe for a while and Tracy also had a go. We met a nice couple of girls from London and had a great time there. The water was very cold though but this didnt stop the fun. Then we saw some bears on the way back that had been rescued and after this headed back for a night out. It really was the best waterfall we've seen in Asia so far.

Once back we showered and changed and headed out for some drinks with the girls we met at the waterfall and ended up bowling again. There was not that many drinks consumed and we made it back well within our limits and had a good nights sleep.

Day 69

We left early the next day for a trip to the legendary VangVien in Laos. The trip took about 6 hours to get there and didnt leave on time, was unorganized and rammed full (so a normal bus ride in Asia then).

When we got to Vang Vien it was throwing it down and after being dropped off by the tuktuk driver at a hostel miles away they get commission) we dropped the bags off at a cafe and Joe went to look for hostels. Nearly two hours later he came back and had found somewhere in the pouring rain (there are few good hostels in VangVien).

After cheking into our hostel there was no time for tubing so we decided to chill for a little while, then we headed out for something to eat at a thai restaurant which had lovely BBQ chicken but appalling service.

We then went to a bar and met Sanjeev who we met on the slow boat and had a few drinks with him before heading off late at night for tubing in the morning.

Day 70

We awoke after a good night sleep and headed for tubing.

Now I need to tell you what tubing is if you havent heard. Its basically a break from all the cultural things we are doing on our trip and it consists of floating down a river in Laos in a rubber tube with people across the banks who throw ropes to you, which you grab and then they pull you into the bar they represent and you go drinking all the way down the river. There are also slides and massive rope swings that go into the river as well as a mud bar with 'mud volleyball', 'mud tug-of-war' and a mud pit.

So we started tubing and met some people on the tuktuk ride upto the first bar. Then we stayed at the first bar and waited for the people to all start tubing down the river which did not take long. Then we went on a big pub crawl down the river which was amazing and meeting loads of new people. The highlight of the day was the massive rope swing that you had to climb loads of steps to get to, then when standing on top of a large platform they give you a trapeze bar and you swing out into the river and let go really high up and come slapping down into the water. Then they throw life belts out to you and you grab onto them and they bring you back in. We both did it and it was amazing!!!

When we finally got back from tubing we were both so tired that we hit the sack and went right to sleep after some food.

Day 71

Because we had such an early night we decided to hit tubbing again the next day. We started a little earlier this day and again met some really cool people on the tuktuk again. Then we met up with the girls we met in Luang Prabang and a few other people and we all went down in a big group together and had another great day in the sun!

After that day, we went for another meal in the Thai place that had awful service and then to bucket bar to dance and have a good night.

Day 72

After two days tubing we needed some rest before we headed off, so we decided to read all day in our rooms and not really leave and then go out for a curry at night. There is little more to say about this day other than that.

Day 73

We awoke and backed our bags and grabbed a quick baguette from a street vendor and waited for our bus to Vientiane which is the capital of Laos. This bus took about six hours and we did it with some friends and met some other people on the bus as well. Its really easy to meet people while traveling because you can always open a conversation about where you are going etc.

We had heard that there was nothing to see in Vientiane but after looking for a hostel for a while in the sun it was really actually a nice little city on the river. So after we had dropped off our bags we decided to go for a little bite to eat and decided what we were going to do with ourselves. While we were sitting there we bumped into Sophie and Lianne who we had met in Halong Bay and we sat with them and had a drink and a chin wag.

After parting company we headed back to the room and checked the internet to get ready to go out. That night we met up with the girls again and ended up playing pool in a bar, but everything shut at 11:00 pm so we headed off home and said goodbye but we might see them in south America.

Day 72

Now because we spent the previous day chatting and enjoying the city, we wanted to get some stuff done so we headed for the internet cafe and spent a long time in there checking money, where we would be and when, who to meet up with, visas and email. During this time we booked a trip back from Kuala Lupur (Malaysia) to Chaing Mai (Thailand) so we could go to an Elephant hospital which will be an amazing experience. It was cheaper to fly from there than anywhere else in Asia so it made sense.

After booking our ticket to Parkta in the very south of Laos we decided to head to a local waterpark. As it was a weekday and during school time it was empty so we were the only people there which was very strange!! Then some other people came and it was OK.

We left the waterpark and waited for our nightbus down south. When it turned up we could not believe our eyes. The sleeper bus was like Ronseal, it did exactly what it said on the tin. Me and Tracy had a double bed all to ourselves on the bus and we havent slept so well on transport since we started our trip. Very thankful I can tell you!!

Day 73

The bus arrived in Pakse around 7am and we were very quick to make some enquiries about trips to the Bolovan Plateau, however we found that all the agent organised tours where either full or empty. As Pakse town didn't look like it had much to offer if we were forced to wait around all day we decided to jump straight on a minibus to the 4,000 islands.

The islands themslelves were beautifull:- situated in the middle of the Mekong River at it's widest point there are 4,000 different islands and sandbanks, though as we are now i9n the middle of the rainy season half of these are underwater and it felt like we were sailing through a half-submerged tropical garden. Our taxi-boat dropped us on the south of Don Det island but as we wanted to b in the north we had to trek fr about 40 mins with our full backpacks on. We finally rented a hut directly on the river, with hammocks & amazing sunset views for the bargain price of £2.20 a night.

As we had left Pakse so abruptly we had not had a chance to think about withdrawing any funds, however as soon as we realised we would have to get some money we were told that there were no cash machines in the four thousand islands. We went from place to place asking if we could draw out some money and the last place we went, they told us that we could pay his friend in a restaurant in card and he would give us the change in dollars minus a few so in reality he was a cash machine, this really helped us. Don Det is probably the most laid back place we've been to yet and so we got into the swing of things by spending the afternoon in our hammocks overlooking the water and watched a lovely sunset with a couple of cold beers.

Day 74

After a really disappointing breakfast at our guesthouse (our noodle soup was swimming with ants) we hired bicycles and rode the length of the island and over the bridge to Don Khong, a slightly larger island with some waterfalls. The waterfall was actually more like rapids but it was still really impressive as it was so wide and the force of the river was so strong. Afterwards we cycled down to long beach where we met some friends and chartered a long boat across the Cambodian border to go dolphin spotting. This part of the Mekong River is home to the wild Irrawady dolphins and we did get lucky enough to spot some playing in the river, of course it was really hard to take photographs though as they would dive in and out of the water faster than you could train the camera on them.
After watching the dolphins we all went for a few drinks and some food by the bridge between the islands and then realised that we had all better peddle back home as quickly as possible as the sun was going down and there's no such thing as road lighting here!

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