Bowling, Opium Dealers and Dead Bodies

Asia the place where anything goes and bowling is the late night drinking hole in Luang Prabang......

Mekong River 1

A last heavy drinking night again in Chang Mai, we got on a small minibus and headed north to the Laos border, spending the night near the Mekong river ready for our two day boat ride down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.

So early morning start, coffee that gives you instance buzz and a river border crossing into my first communist country and the former French colony of Laos.

The boat was of course cramp and didn't leave on time, but hey I'm traveling and used to this sort of thing...the boat actually started to turn out being really sociable, mostly full of travelers and people from all ages and nationalities. We made friends with Chris from Edinburgh, whom we had meet the previous day on the bus from Chang Mai.

Mekong River 10

Further down the river we got a shocking surprise when a dead body floated along side the boat. Pretty blatantly the bloke had been murdered, as his hands were tied around his back and nobody in the surrounding water, fishermen etc wanted to go near him. Later up stream another dead body again hands tied, caught in fishing nets.

Once we got to our over night stay at Pak Beng it was obvious that these blokes must of been caught in a drug related murder. weary eyed stepping off the boat, the first thing we were offered were rooms, then Beer Lao, then weed and then opium. On chatting to one of the waiters, who also double as drug dealers...is response was you can do anything here we own the place!!!

Mekong River 2

Happy to leave Pak Beng, the next leg of the trip was shorter, 6 rather than 8 hours...no dead bodies today, just men with huge cocks.....that cockerels....so maybe the treat with bird flu and a lady selling a dead mongoose and small antelope....strangely bizarre...do back packers buy mongoose????

Arrival in Luang Prabang and a relaxed night, followed the following day by more temple gazing and a trip to the local waterfall. Again its new year, year 2630 and how SE Asia celebrates this time is with huge water fight. So unsuspecting Farang we are traveled by tuk tuk to the waterfalls and soaked before we even got there, lesson learnt from then on we carried water everywhere to join in with the celebrations. One draw back, since then is that I have developed a nasty eye infection from the water, looking like I've gone the distance with Rocky Balboa!!! The waterfalls were great, worth the trip and later we started on the local Lao Lao buckets.

Mekong River 3

These things were disgusting, beer Lao, Lao Lao (rice spirit), M150 (like red bull) and sprite.................hhhuuuummmmm

So merry drunk, its time to go bowling. Luang Prabang has no night clubs or late night bars, the only place to drink in town in at the bowling alley and what fun it is. Chris has got great video footage or me and Scot Chris riding the roof of a tuk tuk on the way there and slipping on are arses trying to bowl. Funny night ended by chilling on the banks of the Mekong watching the mist lift and the sun rise.

I've only been here a week, but absolutely loving Laos. It still has an innocence lost in Thailand, beautiful wooden hill villages, lime stone mountains...but the roads are fairly good and its not as harsh as Myanmar, a prefect vibe for traveling.

Mekong River 4

Mekong River 5

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Mekong River 8

Mekong River 9

Tat Kuang Si 1

Tat Kuang Si 2

Tat Kuang Si 3

Tat Kuang Si 4

Tat Kuang Si 5

Tat Kuang Si 6

Tat Kuang Si 7

Tat Kuang Si 8

Wat Sop 1

Wat Sop 2

Wat Sop 3

Wat Sop 4

Wat Sop 5

Wat Xieng Thong 1

Wat Xieng Thong 2

Wat Xieng Thong 3

Wat Xieng Thong 4

Wat Xieng Thong 5