From Chiang Rai we travelled to a border town to stay for the night, the accomodation was nice and included a swimming pool, only problem is I can't use my right arm yet to swim, so I had to miss out on going in . It’s a nice town which sits on the Mekong River and after dinner I have a walk around town, it’s got a nearby market which is bustling as normal, and I visit a couple of the temples on the way. After a quiet night it’s up early in the morning to cross the border, everyone grabs breakfast and we’re taken by minivan down to the border port and get checked out with our exit stamps before jumping into a waiting boat, to cross the river and into Laos. Once across we have to queue for entry and pay the $30 fee for a one month visa which takes a fair bit of time, no wonder I enjoy crossing borders on my own rather than in a crowd!

 
We were all taken to a nearby restaurant to wait as the boat wouldn’t be leaving until 11:30am which gave us a couple of hours to kill. The boats were all waiting below us on the river, they hold over 100 passengers and we were recommended to get a seat near the front and away from the engine but by the time we were sent down all the seats were taken except the very front ones which instead of facing forward were turning into the middle of the boat, they weren’t the best but nothing we could do about it .


It’s going to be a long couple of days on the boat but I was hoping the movement is easier on my shoulder than being bumped about on a bus and it was, it’s gentle and rocking with the wind through your hair and the sun is shining. I’ve been hanging out with three girls from Essex and although younger they’re all good fun, but there’s a few on the boat that started drinking straight away so the longer the day the drunker they get (and louder) well particularly a Canadian guy.

 
We travel along the river and pass many small villages on the way, it’s a different life out here, people wait on the river banks for the boat to come along then jump on with their bags to go downstream to another village for produce or family, whatever they need. It’s really fascinating to watch and although I’m just passing through catching a glimpse of their lives, it seems really hard work for them, a tough way of life . Steps lead from the river up to the villages and you see people running down to catch the boat, I’m not sure how many there are per day but not a lot I would bet. A number of tourist take speed boats up and down the river which are meant to be quite dangerous and sure enough there are a few of them flying about, everyone in them seem to be hanging on for dear life with their knees to their chests and full crash helmets on, there are many obstacles in the river, I wouldn’t fancy navigating it myself!

 
We arrive at Pak Beng where we’re all staying for the night and head off to find accommodation which was straightforward compared to what we were led to believe by the organizers. There were a number of touts queing up for business and they take you uphill in their waiting forms of transport, it really is just a stop off town with boats every day. I go a walk in the evening but the locals live a bit further out of town and away from the tourist area which I can understand . There are a few nice shops selling bakery and a small market, but the actual homes I pass are Khmer style wooden houses built on stilts with the families sitting having dinner underneath.

 
It’s an early rise for the boat the next morning and we’re told around 9 hours before we arrive in Luang Prabang. The scenery once again coming down river is stunning, we pass the huge kirst mountains on the way which never cease to amaze me, and the locals come and go about their business as the skipper dodges the many rocks in the river and takes on the rapids as he pulls in to stop and pick them up, that’s real skill and a whole lot of concentration to get us safely to Luang Prabang.

 
We eventually arrive and it has been a long day, the Canadian guy from the boat was drunk when he got onboard from the previous day and got drunker and louder as the day went on until he was all you could hear. He latched onto one the girls I had been with and got instantly under my skin, his voice was going through me and he didn’t let up the whole journey, I ended up plugging in trying to ignore him but he was torture and he didn’t stop there! Once we arrived in Luang Prabang we were dropped off 5km away from the centre so everyone had to jump in tuk tuk’s to get into town, the fare was 20,000 kip each and we all piled in, unfortunately he stuck to us like glue and we couldn’t shake him off, and although I got a room for the first night with the girls I would be moving on in the morning for peace, it’s been a long couple of days...