Huayxai to Luang Prabang

(Harriet) 

After the scabby night in chiang kong we started the process of getting to the slow boat, which involved a minibus, bus, border control and finally extremely cramped minibus! Having been told we would cast off at 11 we actually left at 12 after having watched our bags being shoved under the floor boards by small boys before climbing aboard. I really enjoyed the journey and spent the vast majority of it staring at the scenery which was absolutely stunning. Literally everything you looked at was green and beautiful (apart From someone of the locals taking a bath)!! We had a 7 hour journey each day with a night pak beng which was surprisingly cheap and clean! (Apart from the massive cockroach)! When we finally arrived in Luang Prabang we the view was of a steep hill which looked like at some point it had had some Kind of staircase which was sadly no longer there. After scrabbling to the top we got a Tuk Tuk into town and had another surprise as the driver clearly thought he was some kind of racing driver and tried to overtake everything- with our bags held precariously on top!! 

 After we arrived we saw a few guys having dinner and asked if we could join and asked where they were staying. We checked in at there hostel for £2 a night and it was pretty clean too. We went to the night market which was amazing with so much clothing, jewellery and paintings before heading to a. Bar utopia which was really cool. I ordered a 'poor man's drink' which was basically local whiskey and coke (and was actually pretty good) before it shut at 11:30. However, the night did not end there as we jumped into a Tuk Tuk with some of the English guys from the slow boat and went bowling which apparently the normal way to finish then night here! Amy improved as the game went on however the I struggled to even carry the balls which was quite embarrassing! We kept forgetting where we were until we looked at the fuzzy screens or watched someone manually extract a bowling ball Which reminded us we are in asia! 

Yesterday we explored the town and climbed to the hill at the centre which was hard work but the view was worth it. You could see housing enclosed by the Mekong and nam kong rivers and the never-ending jungle beyond. We tried to go to the national museum and despite the opening hours being advertised as 9-11:30 and 2-4:30 we were there at 11 and again at 4 and it was completely closed so who knows when you can actually visit! Classic Laos. We ate loads of great food which has a strong French influence here- having a sandwich is legit! And had a chilled evening of a yummy dinner and local rice wine (so sophisticated)! 

Today we got up at 5:30 to watch the locals giving alms to the monks. It was really interesting and I was really grateful to be able to observe a tiny portion of the monk's day. Afterwards we went back to bed before heading to the waterfalls with a group from the hostel. Turned out to be quite a trek with some more white-knuckle driving and shouting abuse at the police from the Tuk Tuk man however when we reached the top it was beautiful. We then went swimming in the shallows of perfect turquoise water WHICH TO MY HORROR WERE FULL OF FISH!!! Anyone who knows me will understand when I say that it was a big deal for me to get in that pool but I jumped in and it was even more brilliant because of it! After lapping up the gorgeous scenery we headed back to the hostel and are planning on going out again and bowling tonight before bussing it to vang vieng tomorrow. We love Laos already.