Goodbye Thailand, Hello Laos

Next stop - Laos. While we were trekking our passports were being processed in Bangkok to secure our visas for Laos. For whatever reason you can only get a 15 day visa to Laos so you have to plan carefully about where you want to go and when. We decided to enter Laos at the Thai border town of Chiang Khong. This required two bus rides and a sprint to the ferry to get across the border before it closed. The 2 minute ferry across the Mekong takes you to Huay Xai, the border town on the Laos side. This town seems to exist to feed and house travelers waiting the night to start their trips.





Getting to our first real destination in Laos required a two day journey down the Mekong. The slow boat as it's called travels down the Mekong at a not so fast pace (as the name implies) stopping every so often to pick up and drop off folks. While the thought of the trip seems somewhat romantic, the reality it slightly different. Don't get me wrong - the scenery is amazing and it's a true experience to be sure. What is also true is that there are over 100 people crammed onto a boat that could comfortably seat maybe 40, the wooden, straight-back seats lose their charm after about 90 minutes, and the dynamics of people living in such cramped quarters for 14 hours over two days is not always pleasant. As explained in Michael's blog in greater detail there was much heated discussion between stubborn passengers about rights to seats, saved seats, seat assignments, etc. The Germans in particular seem quite concerned with this and have no problem voicing, very loudly, their opinions. Unlucky for them the Dutch, who seemed to be sitting in what were claimed to be the German's seats, were unwavering in their place.....let the games begin!







The boat bathroom was better than expected. Rumor had it that the "bathroom" consisted of a hole in the boat that dropped directly into the Mekong river. It smelled awful but I did appreciate the cute touch of the little trash can with the smiley face.



The boat ride is divided into two days. 6 hours the first day and 8 the next. In between we stopped in another town that seems to exist entirely for travelers - Pakbeng. When you get off the boat you're left on this cliff of sand to drag your bag up the vertical beach to find a room for the night. There is no hot water in the entire town. And I advise folks to not order pizza when in Pakbeng. I do, however, advise them to have many bottles of Laos Beer to make them not care if they've showered or eaten properly.







By the second day on the boat the novelty had worn off. Now it was simply about plowing through to get to our destination - Luang Prabang. As a french man told us this morning while were were recovering from the previous night's journey, "that trip is twice too long." I couldn't agree more.

Luang Prabang, however, is just the place you want to recover and convalesce. It's a wonderful mixture of French and Buddhist architecture sitting on the Mekong surrounded by mountains. Michael described it like Carmel, California in Laos and I think that's exactly right. There are plenty of boutiques and little bakeries. They have done a lot to play on the natural charm of the village - all the shops and vendors have beautiful paper lanterns and solitary white lights at night. People are very friendly and it's a great place to just chill out. Which I think is exactly what we'll do for a few days.