There is no direct route from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, Laos. We were given three options, all of which started with a mini bus to the border. At the border we could take a boat across and continue by a different bus, take a 7 hour speed boat down the Mekong the next morning, or take a 2 days slow boat down the Mekong. When booking with our guesthouse, we were told that the bus option arrived the same day. Because of that, and since it was the cheapest option, we went with the bus. Bad decision! We were picked up at 9:00 am and didn't make it to the border until 5:00pm. We crossed the Mekong by boat, went through customs and were put in the back of a truck to go to the bus. After talking with the other people heading to the bus, we found out that the bus wouldn't actually arrive in Luang Prabang until 6am the next day. It would not have been that bad but the seats on the bus were so close together that I could not even fit my legs in front of me, they were curled up in the seat with me. While it's comfortable to sit like that for an hour, for 13 hours it is not. If we had any hopes of falling asleep in the uncomfortable chairs they were crushed when the bus started moving. We spent a lot of time on dirt and gravel roads and roads that had huge pot holes. Either the driver loved loud music or he was trying to keep himself awake. There was no sleep to be had on the bus. We were very glad when we finally arrived in Luang Prabang.
Little boat to cross the Mekong from Thailand to Laos.
We found our guesthouse and despite being a day late (and having no way to contact them once we realized we were not going to make it until the next day) they were very welcoming and had a room for us. After catching up on sleep we headed out to explore the town. Luang Prabang is a cute little town on the river.
Luang Prabang Museum across the street from our guesthouse.
We had lunch over looking the river.
Mekong
Family working in the garden on the river bank.
On our second day, we decided to go kayaking on the Nam Kahn River. I think we actually knew more about kayaking than our guide did and we did not make all the stops we were supposed to but we had a good time. It was really neat to see the villages along the river. The one stop we did make was a waterfall. The waterfall is supposed to be really spectacular during the rainy season. Unfortunately it is not the rainy season so it was more of a trickle.
The River.
Others on the river.
House at the village where we put our kayaks in the river.
At the waterfall.
Elephants from a near by camp coming to bathe in the river.
At night, there were constantly kids coming by the resturaunts trying to sell things. These kids were having a funny conversation with this guy about watermelons and coconuts. When we saw the paper he was reading, there was a picture of a large chested woman, but no fruit.
The next day we checked out some of the temples and buddhas around town.
Bamboo bridge crossing the river.
Lots of delicious fruit.
Every morning the monks walk through the town collecting alms. We happened to see the end of them our first morning in town and decided to get up our last morning to watch them pass.
After Luang Prabang, our plan was to head to Hanoi, Vietnam. We checked on buses and discovered it was a 36 hour trip. After our previous bus experience we decided to check into flights. The flight was inexpensive but there were no available seats out of Luang Prabang for about a week so we decided to take an 8 hour bus down to Vientiane and fly from there. This bus was much better! There was actual leg room and the driver did not have a radio on. The only negatives were that it was a little hot on the bus and almost the entire road was up and down the mountains and consantly curving. You know it's going to be a rough ride when they pass out barf bags as you board the bus. With the help of some dramamine I didn't get too bus sick. The roads may not have been great but the scenery was spectacular and we got to see lots of little villages along the road.
This is the main road through Laos. Until you arrive in Vientiane, it never gets larger. Along the way the road would sometimes be very crowded. Things our bus almost hit: other buses, cars, trucks, tractors, mopeds, bikes, adults, children, naked children, cows, chickens, and pigs. Although there were several near misses, we only saw the aftermath of one accident, and it seemed very minimal.
View from the bus.
Tractor-wagon hybrid type vehicle. They were everywhere.
Our bus got in a little late and we had to take a pick up truck taxi to the hotel. The benches in the back were full so we got to stand on the back. Thankfully we made it to the hotel safely. We really didn't have a lot of time in Vientiane. By the time we got to our hotel, we went to dinner and called it a night. The next morning we went for a short walk before heading to the airport.
That Dam Stupa
Monument in Vientiane.
Arch in Vientiane.
Next stop Hanoi. I think this is the smallest plane I've ever been on.
