From Chiang Mai we headed for the next country of Laos. This was going to end up taking us a
total of three days to get to our next stop of Luang Prabang which used to be the capital city before Ventianne. The first leg of our journey was a mini-van to the Thai/ Laos border which took around 4 hours (including stopping at the tour office to get the paperwork started for our LAOS VISAS). We reached 
the sleepy border town of Chiang Kong and checked into our humble abodes for the night on the banks of the Mekong River. In our van was the two Irish lads - Paul and Phil (who were on the one day trek with us) a guy from England named Lee and a lovely Australian couple Paula and Ken. We all got on like a house on fire and ended up banding together for the next week of our trip. We had a couple of cool beers with the people from our van outside our rooms and then went for a walk through the town to have a look around a bit. Livi had another massage and then we all had dinner together (which was part of the package we had bought) and hit the sack.Huay Xai - Laos Border
Early the next morning we went to the border after getting our passports back with our Laos VISAS in them and caught a longtail boat across the Mekong from Thailand to Huay Xai in Laos. On the other side we went through the border control and then were taken to the 'SLOW BOAT' which would be taking us down the river to Luang Prabang. It 
was by no means the most comfortable of trips sitting on wooden benches with thin cushions on them, especially as day one of the trip took almost 7 and a half hours. The 'SLOW BOAT' is aptly named not only because it travels rather slowly down the river but it stops all the time to either pick up
more locals or for villagers to be able to try and sell things to the passengers.The scenery along the way was nothing short of spectacular as we passed many villages and rolling hills covered in jungle. The Mekong is definitely 'MIGHTY' to say the least. There are rocks and whirlpools and strong currents that buffered the boat as we travelled and made it even more of an adventure.
Pak BengWe arrived in Pak Beng where we stayed the night. For dinner both Livi and I tried water buffalo. She had it in a curry and I had it in a stroganoff type dish. It was absolutely delicious!
This remote little town out in the middle of nowhere only has power from generators so the power at our guesthouse went off at 10.30pm which meant a very hot and sticky night.
The next day the 'SLOW BOAT' took us the rest of the way to Luang Prabang. There was more beautiful scenery and lots of time consuming stops too. It was an incredibly hot day and we were all glad to get to the other end.
Luang Prabang
We were all relieved to finally be off the boat and then came the tedious task of finding somewhere to stay. Livi, Lee, the Irish boys and I found a really nice guesthouse that was pretty much brand new and most important of all CLEAN! The only problem was - there was no electricity in the whole city as there were some major repairs going on somewhere. This didn't help matters as it was hideously hot and the water in our shower was barely a trickle (as it was fed with an ELECTRIC PUMP) so getting clean and refreshed was near on impossible. Liv and I went into the the little township worried that it could be yet another STICKY night without a fan and went to a nice restaraunt in town where we had PIZZA by candlelight. About half way through our meal the power came back on and there was a mighty cheer from not only all the people in the restaraunt, but all the people in the street too!
The next day our little group all headed out to the Kouang Si waterfalls that are top on the to do list in Luang Prabang. We got a pickup truck tuk-tuk to the falls which are about 35kms out of the city. Of all the falls that we had visited so far these were by far the most impressive and beautiful. The water comes from Limestone springs and is an amazing aqua-marine colour. There are a number of smaller pools that you come across as you make your way up the main falls that people swim in and picnic around. The 
main falls were breathtaking. We had worked a little bit of a sweat getting there so we all ignored the strategically placed sign that said 'DANGER NO SWIMMING HERE' and headed straight in. The water was wonderfully refreshing and we all had a great time swimming there (yes Perry and Brent - I did some staples on your behalfs) and taking photos. 
Liv and I then went on a bit of a hike up a track on the left hand side of the falls which eventually took us to the very top to a swamp that looked like something out of Lord of The Rings. You
could see for miles up there and the view over the falls was awe inspiring. We then climbed down to the top tier of the falls where there was an enchanting pool surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of falls. You could swim up to the edge of the pool and look out over the edge to the waterfalls below - it was awesome! To get down from here we had to climb down another small waterfall to get back to the track which turned out to be pretty easy as the rocks weren't slippery at all.
main falls were breathtaking. We had worked a little bit of a sweat getting there so we all ignored the strategically placed sign that said 'DANGER NO SWIMMING HERE' and headed straight in. The water was wonderfully refreshing and we all had a great time swimming there (yes Perry and Brent - I did some staples on your behalfs) and taking photos. 
Liv and I then went on a bit of a hike up a track on the left hand side of the falls which eventually took us to the very top to a swamp that looked like something out of Lord of The Rings. You
could see for miles up there and the view over the falls was awe inspiring. We then climbed down to the top tier of the falls where there was an enchanting pool surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of falls. You could swim up to the edge of the pool and look out over the edge to the waterfalls below - it was awesome! To get down from here we had to climb down another small waterfall to get back to the track which turned out to be pretty easy as the rocks weren't slippery at all. 
That night we went out for dinner with Paul, Phil and Lee and had a couple of beers at a local bar called the Hive while playing GRASS. The bars close at midnight and if you want to kick on here you have to go the local bowling alley. All the tuk tuk and moto drivers are waiting on the road and harass you to go bowling - so of course we did. Liv, Paul, Phil, Lee and I had a laugh bowling and met some more Kiwis from Christchurch and many other people from all over the world. When the place closed we went out to the carpark which was once again full of tuk tuk and moto drivers begging for our custom. The one that we ended taking started out with about 7 people in it. However a couple of minutes down the road and he decided to pick up another dozen or so. There were people hanging off this thing left, right and centre. It was quite a funny way to end the night.The next day was spent lazing around and sorting out transport to our next port of call.....
Vang Vien
Lee, the Irish lads and Livi and I caught and early mini van from Luang Prabang and set out for the 'TUBING' (will become more clear what this is soon) capital of the world Vang Vien. The journey took us through incredibly winding roads over amazing hills and almost mountain like
countryside. We passed many a local village on the way and it was truly an eye opener to see the conditions that most of them lived in and yet seemed so content going about their day to day business. About half way there we stopped for lunch and got a heck of surprise to see two guys barely into their 20's with AK 47s slung over their shoulders. They stood there smoking their cigarettes quite oblivious to the fact that our whole mini-bus was freaked out by it all.
Lee, the Irish lads and Livi and I caught and early mini van from Luang Prabang and set out for the 'TUBING' (will become more clear what this is soon) capital of the world Vang Vien. The journey took us through incredibly winding roads over amazing hills and almost mountain like
countryside. We passed many a local village on the way and it was truly an eye opener to see the conditions that most of them lived in and yet seemed so content going about their day to day business. About half way there we stopped for lunch and got a heck of surprise to see two guys barely into their 20's with AK 47s slung over their shoulders. They stood there smoking their cigarettes quite oblivious to the fact that our whole mini-bus was freaked out by it all. With lunch out of the way we continued on and reached our desitnation in the late afternoon. After trekking around doing what we have now dubbed "the backpacker shuffle" looking for a place to stay within our budget, the boys and us found a place and then went for swim in a tributary of the Namkong river that our balconies overlooked to cool off. The water was beautiful and cool and we all got very excited about what lay ahead for us the next day. This was the view from our balcony:
Vang Vieng is a strange sort of place that many a backpacker has wound up staying for weeks after originally only planning a couple of days. There isn't much too it but a whole lot of guesthouses around a main town centre with lots of restaurants and bars to cater for the tourists. The weirdest part about the whole place is that unlike other tourist meccas like the Thai and Malaysian islands where the restaurants typically play the latest pirated DVD movies - in Vang Vien they seemed obsessed with only playing re-runs of Friends and in the odd place 'The Simpsons'. I don't know who told them that these are the shows that backpackers want to watch when eating breakfast, lunch and dinner but they all seemed to have listened to that same wise man??
Day two saw us all sign up to do what most Westeners come to Vang Vien to do 'TUBING'. The name is pretty much self explanatory. You hire a big inner tube and then everyone loads into tuktuks piled high with people and tubes and they take you about 5kms or so up the Namkong river. The driver drops everyone off and you grab your tube and jump on it and simply float down the Namkong. Now I know that a lot of you back home will be saying - well how is that any different from doing the same thing on any river at home? Well firstly it was about 35 degrees that day so that water was extremely refreshing. Secondly dotted along the shores of the river are all these bars. 
What happens is that as you float down you can paddle yourself over to get close to the banks and then someone will stick out a long bamboo pole and pull you over to their bar which is more or less a bamboo platform built onto the bank. Each bar either has a flying fox or huge swing at it also and so the idea goes that you buy a Beer Lao and then have a crack at the zip line or the swing. Every bar also offers free shots of a locally made whiskey called 'Laolao' which is incredibly potent. After having our first free one at the first bar we went to we all decided that even that was one too many! 
Day two saw us all sign up to do what most Westeners come to Vang Vien to do 'TUBING'. The name is pretty much self explanatory. You hire a big inner tube and then everyone loads into tuktuks piled high with people and tubes and they take you about 5kms or so up the Namkong river. The driver drops everyone off and you grab your tube and jump on it and simply float down the Namkong. Now I know that a lot of you back home will be saying - well how is that any different from doing the same thing on any river at home? Well firstly it was about 35 degrees that day so that water was extremely refreshing. Secondly dotted along the shores of the river are all these bars. 
What happens is that as you float down you can paddle yourself over to get close to the banks and then someone will stick out a long bamboo pole and pull you over to their bar which is more or less a bamboo platform built onto the bank. Each bar either has a flying fox or huge swing at it also and so the idea goes that you buy a Beer Lao and then have a crack at the zip line or the swing. Every bar also offers free shots of a locally made whiskey called 'Laolao' which is incredibly potent. After having our first free one at the first bar we went to we all decided that even that was one too many! 
We had the most amazing day. We met people from all over the world including a contingent frome home and had an absolute blast on the swings and flying foxes too. Part the way down the river we got to one bar where we had planned to stop for a beer when the winds began to howl and the heavens opened up. Man it was as torrential a downpour as you are 
ever likely to see. Instead of dampening everyones spirits it had the oppposite effect and once the rain had died down the crowd hit the river and floated down through a series of rapids to the main bar on the trip. It had the second to largest swing and a volleyball court as well. While Livi watched and took some amazing photos the boys and I were like little kids on that swing and Paul took control of what was a very competitive game of volleyball from all reports. 
The day ended with us all being a little on the tipsy side and in total darkness. Livi and I got seperated from the rest of our group and when we finally dragged ourselves from the river she lost her tube and it floated off down the river in the darkness. Luckily the guys at the tubing place thought she was a bit of a dish so they let her off for the indiscretion saying that it happens all the time and not to worry about it. The funny thing was that Paul lost his tube also and they charged him an extra $7.00 US!The new day dawned and Livi and I decided that unfortunately we would finally have to part ways with our mates and move on. The last week or so travelling with those guys was so much fun and it was kind of hard to say goodbye but we made our farewells and caught the supposed VIP Bus to the capital Ventianne.
Ventianne
We spent one night in the capital and had a lovely Indian meal which was right up there with the meal that we had in Penang almost two months ago. The next day we caught the overnight train back to Bangkok where we spent one more night before setting off on the next stage of our trip.
We spent one night in the capital and had a lovely Indian meal which was right up there with the meal that we had in Penang almost two months ago. The next day we caught the overnight train back to Bangkok where we spent one more night before setting off on the next stage of our trip.
Arohanui
Livi and Tama xx
Livi and Tama xx
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