Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hello again, sorry it has been a while since the last update. The last few days have been a bit busy!
On the 14th we stepped away from the waterfighting (if only briefly) to see some Wats and experiance a bit more of Thai culture. We went to Wat Phra Singh which was beautifal and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The second one was ontop of a mountain which you drove most of the way up and then climbed the stairs to the wat itself. The views from the top over Chaing Mai were incredible, it gave us a really good indication of the size of it (it was a lot bigger than i had thought!!). On the way back down to the city, we became 'sitting ducks' in the back of the pickup truck. People would target us, at first because we were dry, but after that i think they just found it amusing. By the time we got back to the Pae Gate we were soaked through again!! We then said goodbye to Steve and Hanah (the couple that we met a few nights ago) who were heading back to Bangkok. Jess and I then had a quiet night in. We went for a very nice meal and then straight to bed!
On the 15th we had a bit of a lazy day. We did a bit of book shopping since i have already read all the books that i brought out with me and then we sat by the pool for the afternoon. That evening we went out to a bar Steve had introduced us to called 'Roots, Rock, and Reggae' or something like that. They had a live band who played Reggae/Salsa so we had a bit of a boogie before heading to the bar opposite who also had a live band but they were singing english/american songs. We stayed there dancing the night away until god knows when then went back to get a few hours of sleep.
The next day (16th) we had to be up and checked out of our hotel by 12 so we left our stuff in reception and slept by the pool all day. That evening we got a bus to the Thai/Laos boarder and slept on the Thai side. On the mini-bus up we met 2 girls from Bristol called Claire and Samantha who are very nice.
We had an early start on the 17th as we had to travel to the boarder and then go through the whole process of crossing! It was such a nightmare! First of all we go the bus to the end of the Thai boarder, where we had to queue to get stamped out of Thailand. We then got a tiny little boat dicerctly across the Mekong river into Laos, where we had to do some more queueing to get out Laos visas and to get stamped into the country. After this we then got another bus which took us about 1/4 of a mile up the river where we could get onto the slowboat. The slowboat itself is definatly an experiance! You sit on these tiny little benches for around about 6 hours, so after a while it gets pretty uncomfortable. Saying that however, within about 2 minutes of the journey everbody was out thier seats, walking around or sitting on the floor (more comfortable than the benches) or just sprawling themselves over the bags! It gave us a really good chance to chat to loads of people and we made some really good friends. We ended up chatting the 2 girls from bristol, as well as a couple from Wales and a guy from Southampton. We arived in Pakbeng (the halfway point) and found ourselves some dirt cheap accomadation (B75 - about 1 pound 50 each) before grabbing something to eat in the restaurant opposite. They had a 'happy hour' which consisted of giving us a free bottle of Laos whiskey, which was absolutely disgusting. I also tried Beer Lao, which is alright but not as nice as in India or Thailand. We were in bed by 10.15pm as there is a curfew at 10 and all the lights turn out!
The next morning (18th) we got back on the slowboat for another 8 or so hours. Again it gave us the chance to meet lots of people, most of them are doing very similar trips through Laos as us so i'm sure we will keep on bumping into them! Once in Luang Prabang we found some accomadation with Claire and Samantha and went to the night market. The market was really nice and had some lovely jewelry for sale so i think i shall go back and have a better look tonight! We then went to a bar where we bumped into about 15 of the people that we had met on the the slowboat. At 11 the lights went out (due to the curfew) and strangely enough everybody then heads to the local bowling alley which the curfew doesn't apply to! It was very odd! Every bowling alley was full with travellers, and there was also a bar and music thumping out, it just seemed a bit surreal!
Today (the 19th) we did a bit of culture and headed up to Wat Pa Houak which is situated on top of a hill so it gave us some really good views of the city. We then just had a bit of a wonder around the city which is really nice. It is a very small, sleepy kind of village, it is just a very relaxing place to be. We were also lucky enough to stumble upon a Wat that was in the middle of a cerimony that was ordaining the monks which was very interesting to watch. We then got a tuk-tuk to the Kouang Si waterfalls which were beautifal. The water was a really nice colour and was nice and refreshing. Tonight we are going back to the market, and then maybe a bit of bowling...!
Hope you have all been well.
xxxxxx
- comments