Mekong and Luang Probang

Friday 6:30pm.

So Tuesday was a slow travelling day. 2 hours at the airport, 1 hour collecting bags and then a 2 hour transfer to Chung Khong on the Thai side of the Mekong. It was a lovely village and felt very Thai and little touched by the global brands. Our guesthouse was perched over the river. It was a lovely spot and very relaxing.

Next morning we walked 1km to the border crossing. Had to get passport stamped to leave Thailand , then cross the Mekong on a taxi boat to the Laos border point. Pay 35USD for a Laos visa and entry forms - queue here, chaos, queue there, more chaosm blah , blah, Then tromp up the hill to a tuk tuk for a 2kn ride to our slow boat on the Mekong. You are advised to be very calm when visiting here as time is of little importance. But it was great watching human life pass us by,,

Wednesday involved a 50kn slow boat down the Mekong to our guesthouse in Pak Beng. On the way we stopped at a small mons village where we were sold, or attempted to be sold, bracelets made by the young girls. The village didn't seem to have made any concessions to the tourists - it was basic. But also lovely to see.. Pak Beng is the halfway point for journeys to Luang Prabang. So it is an overnight stop shop. However, because this area of the country is mountainous there is very little flat land to have a village. So its basically a road going 7km into the mountains along which are a few guest houses and shops and houses for the people who are driving trade up and down the river.

The Mekong is the M1 of this area of Laos as it takes all of the traffic and trade up the river faster than the 1 available road.

Thursday was spent travelling 9 hours down the river with 1 stop for a village - this one had a few stalls aimed at the tourists - but they all sold the same things! I decided they need a marketing consultant if anyone knows of one.

Luang Probang is the main town of this area and relies totally on tourism for its money. Its another world heritage town which feels a bit 'hippy'fied - I suppose these buddhist towns do. Lots of monks and lots of Wats (temples , churches), Today we spent wandering around the sites and getting hot - it has been hot the last few days 30C plus.

This is much better than the Thai trip. Although I am currently suffering an acute lack of sleep. We have stayed in guesthouses the last few nights and insulation (and windows are sometimes lacking), The BLOODY cockerels start crowing at 3am and no amount of earplugs can stop them at the moment. I am taking my punishment out on them by eating chicken whenever I can. I think even Shell would want to strangle the litlle F%&)ers.

see you next Monday or Tuesday. Have a great weekend , I think I will