I awake to the last Thai sunrise I will see for a while. Today we’re heading for the border ready for the Laos adventure, so it’s time to say goodbye to Chiang Mai.
So what’s the plan, then? At 10:00am we jump into another air-con minibus. Everyone knows the routine; lob your bag in the back, climb on board, claim your territory, and prepare your backside to feel every corner, pothole, and stone in the road for the next five hours or so. We wave goodbye to Junia and the guest house and settle down for the next four hours or so (by the way, I’m terrible at remembering travel times so it could have been 30mins or half a day for all I know).
Passing through Chiang Rai we head for Chiang Khong, the Thai border town along the banks of the Mekong River. Here we wait for an hour preparing visas and such. We introduced ourselves to Sarah and Rachel (I don’t know how to spell Rachel), two Irish gals that we making the same journey into Laos. You’ll here more about them later.
Looking into Laos from Chiang Khong, Thailand.
Meanwhile, we cross the Mekong and enter Laos with no hassle or ceremony to a place called Houayxay. There is nothing to do here, and I mean nothing. It’s simply a transit stop on the way to the good stuff further south. We change some money, walk around for 20mins, have a bite to eat, and then sleep. It’s an early start of 08:00 the following morning.
It’s probably a convenient time to mention the new injury I had sustained prior to the journey into Laos. I say it’s an injury, but it’s more of an infection. My gums had swollen around my wisdom teeth just days before leaving Chiang Mai. There wasn’t enough time to have the teeth pulled before I left so I opted for the anti-biotic approach. My first few days in Laos find me preoccupied with pain, and maybe a little slow from all the Ibuprofen I was gulping down. This wasn’t so good considering I was about to embark on a two day trip down the Mekong on a loud, slow and very uncomfortable boat.
Boatin’. Day one.
The trip was actually okay for me. During the first day I sat off the side of the boat which was far better than the miniature pews they had installed inside. I listened to Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour and read my book. The second day wasn’t so good. That night we had a stop over in Pakbeng. Here we discovered that Laos was not as cheap as we’d hoped for. Since there are only a handful of places to visit in Laos, the locals have you over a barrel when it comes to prices because they know you have no choice. The guest house was not sparkling by any standards, and my phone was nicked from the room. The thief kindly left my SIM card behind along with my iPod and camera which sat adjacent! Idiot…
End of day one.
Another early start the next day. We joined Sarah and Rach again on the back of the boat and settled in for more pain. This time I wasn’t allowed to sit on the side of the boat and was confined to the floor inside. I finished my book (Will Self’s How the Dead Live which I can recommend but it isn’t his finest work) and my iPod was running low. I switched to a Jeremy Clarkson book called I Know You Got Soul (sorry Steve, but it was actually quite good). But it was short lived and I finished that in a day too. Not to worry though. We were a few hours from Louangphrabang and the views are pretty tasty.
The start of day 2. The Mekong at 08:00.
But then we broke down…A member of the crew came running from the back of the boat covered in oil. The fuel line had broken leaving us drifting towards the river bank. We casually plowed into the soft silt and came to rest without a care in the world. It was a great opportunity to stretch my legs, so it was all good really.
Day two. Beached.
And then finally we reach Louangphrabang around 19:00 (I think). Guest houses were hard to find initially, because they all seemed pretty steep. This happens everywhere we go really; You spend 30 minutes or so searching for something cheaper, but come to realise that they’re all priced the same and you may as well settle for the first you can find.
Louangphrabang is a pleasant French colonial town sat quietly alongside the Mekong. A lot of French influence can still be found, such as having a baguette with every meal. There’s are a few temples to be seen around the town and an excellent view from the central hill. The downside was the cost. The town had featured in a list of top destinations a few years back. Since then the place is overrun by travellers such as myself and a few more of the middle-aged couple variety too. I guess the more wealthy visitors could afford a meal for 35, 000kip, forcing the prices up perhaps.
And so begins the story of Louangphrabang…
