Luang Prabang Hotels
C-hampden's travel blogs:
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River travel in Laos
Entry 39 of 67 | show all | print this entry |
We left Chiang Rai after having a few drinks the night before around town. Nothing major because we knew we had to make our way to the Thai border that day. We got on a local bus to Chiang Khong, which took nearly 3 hours, and wasn't exactly confortable. Some of the roads were pot-hole covered, and the bus had too many people on it so there was no space to breathe. However, it was still better than I had anticipated! Once we got to Chiang Khong we made our way to our guesthouse located on the riverside of the Mekong. It was my first sight of the river, and it had a mystic feel about it at sunset. Again, we had a quiet night as all lights were out at 10.30. I didn't mind this as we had to be up at 6.30 anyway.
I got up alright and had some breakfats, before heading down to Thai immigration to check out of the country. We then got on a speedboat over the river to Huay Xai (Laos), were we checked in to Immigration - another stamp for the passport. Then the fun began....
We went down to the "quay" to get on our slow-boat that was heading to Luang Prabang, which is a 2-day boat trip away. It becamer obvious pretty early on that the boat was going to be more than full. It was a 75-seat boat, and had over 100 people on it. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly spacious. I guess that's what its all about in Asia! The boat travelled down the Mekong for about 5 hours, passing many small villages were the river is the main focus of life for them. We ended up stopping in Pakbeng for the night, where I was offered opium, cocaine and marijuana as soon as I got off the boat. I also had my football knocked out of my hand, only to be told I could have it back for 50 baht. Well, I got it back and I didn't pay them that! The town is a bit of a joke really. Everyone is a drug pusher, even the owners of the guesthouses. And you have to lock your room even when you are asleep as the locals try to get in anyway and steal your stuff. At least I got to try some Laos whiskey, although that wasn't a great experience either.
The next day was another early start, mainly due to the roosters! Once back on the boat (which was worse than the one before) I took mty place sat on the floor along with some Dutch and Australian people, all of whom were nice. I had to laugh though, as the Dutch lads didn't know that there are no ATMs in Laos, and had no money on them. The panic on their faces was a picture, but the Dutch girls said they would lend them some. The boat trip was 7 hours-ish, and my bum loast all feeling after about 3. It was pretty uncomfortable to say the least! I was so happy when we reached Luang Prabang, and sorted a guesthouse out quite quickly. Ross was feeling rough so he stayed in last night, whilst I met up with the Dutch girls and Australians, then eventually met up with the Dutch guys. We had some food, and I tried the local speciality of Water Buffalo which was tasty (and the same as beef basically). There doesn't seem to be much nightlife here, but it was good to spend the night chatting with some new people.
Not sure what my plans are for Laos, but I'll probably stay here a few days before moving on to Vang Vieng for some tubing! I'll post a blog about the rest of my time in Luang Prabang when my time is complete.
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