Pakbeng Lodge

... peeping out from between the trees at which we sometimes made a stop to deliver something. At one point a load of children came down to try to punt their wares including a couple of dead river rats, one of which one Laos lady was pleased to purchase! We were all a taken aback as the dead animal with fresh blood still dripping from it was handed over onto our boat. She popped it into a plastic bag and stowed it away ...

... a border crossing diminish. JD and I only have to find our own way. Today adventure is a 2 day boat ride down the Mekong river through the unknow (to us) wilderness of Laos.<br><br>A lil' bit later and we're watching the lush scenary of Thailand and Laos float by through the open air windows of a long-tail boat, curtains dancing in the breeze. Lao Beer in hand and life is oh so good. Points scored for travel by water.

... demented Rooster that couldn&#8217;t<br>tell when it was Dawn so crowed every hour on the hour they said it<br>wasn&#8217;t so must the crowing it self but more the expectation of the<br>next crow much like being stuck in a bunk house with someone who is<br>snoring.<br>The next day was a adventure we carried our backpacks across the<br>way to the River where we had to board a small boat that took us<br>across the river to the Laos immigration offices, were ...

... forty-five minutes more of waiting around at a little restaurant, during which time a guy working for the tour company took our passports off us again for no apparent reason, then returned a short while later. He said that the departure time was anybody's guess. We had some food, then all of a sudden the boat became ready, and we legged it down to the pier and boarded the boat, which involved crossing a rather precarious little wooden plank from dry land ...

... of stilted wooden houses that open out onto the canal. Streetlights and telegraph poles extended down into the water, rows of washing hung out to dry, and on this Sunday morning the cries of children playing and splashing in the river could be heard from afar. The water teemed with fish, and it was considered a lucky ritual to feed them &#8211; crowds of locals gathered tossing pieces of bread into the canal, being rewarded with a frenzy ...

... and all read large quantities, manufacturing the passing the time as best we could. The Laotian sat still and silent the whole way, barely chatting and only sometimes paying us foreigners any attention. Whilst we read reams, they day dreamed - perfectly at home with a day spent traveling, used to letting time wash over them in this way.<br>Only the Laotian boy of maybe two or three years who sat in the seats in front of us showed any ...

... there were parts which would be perfect for white water rafting. The boat we were on was big enough for them not to matter (with some skilled maneuvering anyway), but another option for getting down to Luang Prabang was the 'fast boat' - a V8 powered matchstick boat which regularly clip rocks and disintegrate, killing all of the passengers. Not a difficult decision to make on which method to take.<br><br>Overnight we ...

... and restaurants. The town is run on a generator and it stopped at 10!!<br>We got up early today and headed back onto the boat for another 9 and a half hours. The scenery didn't really seem to change!! We reached our destination, Laos border town Huay Xai at 6.30pm which meant it was too late for us to cross the boarder into Thailand.<br>

... Turns out I got a stress fracture from running and the Muay Thai made it much worse. It didn't break both bones, so I can put weight on it and plan to carry on my trip (untreated as my insurance won't cover it!)<br><br>I spent last night at the Thai/Laos border and boozed for a few hours with people I met on the bus, and who will be on the slow boat with me for the next couple of days. There's a mixture of English, Americans and Dutch ...

... and hours more on the boat. <br><br>Because the trip is two days, boats stop in a small village called Pak Beng and everyone disembarks for the night. In all my travels I have seen nothing like this town before. It exists solely to house falang - tourists - for one night. I have never been lied to soo many times in such a short period. The whole place is one big scam - pathetic really and a very sad introduction to such a great country. <br><br>In any case...it's good to be in the PDR!