Week 20 (Lao)

11/2

Woke up at 7.15, went to the bakery for a coffee and a croissant (big yummy), on the truck now to Nuang Khiou (?). Laterz.

A long and bumpy drive again for change. Like in the good old days (3 weeks ago). Anyway, arrived here at 6 PM, crappy hotel, but who cares, checked the social media and the news, strolled and had a great noodle soup. Tomorrow a boat trip tp LPG (Luang something something). Now star trek.
Luang Prabang it's called.


11/3

Woke up at 7.30. Put my stuff on the truck, breakfasted (with weird coffee), and went to the office for the start of the boat trip. First part to the dam. Nice trip, but we had some rain, like... POORING! We had to close the "curtains". ..which did make the trip special.

On a tuk tuk to pass the dam (yes, that's a 10 minutes drive), 2nd boat. Sitting a little less comfortable in the back of the boat, but still loved it. Great scenery.

Visited the Buddha statues in the Tham Ting cave at Pak Ou. Strange place. Impressive though.

Arrived here in Luang Prabang at 17.00. Tuk tuk to the Hostel. I love it here (cosy backpackers place), but not good enough for the tourists among us, so they upgraded to a fancy hotel. Well, up to them. Everybody makes his own choice (and pays for it).

Spend the evening updating, checking mail, FB, sipping beers, played a little guitar (They have an (bit crappy) classical guitar here). Went to bed to see a star trek episode. Slept well, but woke up a bit itchy... bedbugs? Hmmm.


11/4

Woke up at 8. A bit itchy as said. Updating blog now. Laterz.

Make long strolls to the markets and along the river. Great places. Fresh orange juice, tuna sandwiches and so on. The good wifi allowed me to update my blog in the afternoon. In the evening another stroll, a massage (which was not good, though it did loosen my shoulders up), another visit to the night market and a last beer here in the hostel. Slept good (took another bed, so no itchyness).


11/5

Woke up at 7. Checked mail. Went to the waterfalls with James and Mellisa. Good fun, long drive though, but we got it cheap. Really cheap.

Swam some serious lanes and sipped a big Lao beer over sunset at the Mekong river.
Updated blog (week 19 is on line), went for another stroll and had a great fried noodles at my favorite (after two days i have a favorite, yes) restaurant.
Went back to the hostel to share the last hours of the day with some very nice German travelers, making music. Went to bed at midnight.


11/6

Woke up at 7, packed, bought breakfast at the market. On the truck now (after 4 days), on the road to Vang Vieng (my 2nd visit there). Laterz...
The road was long, muddy and rainy. Arrived here at 6.15. Recognize the place from 4 years ago. Got a room of my own! Getting some food now.

Found a nice place for food and Ajax-Barcelona. Enjoyed! Moments the traveler in me is happy. Full filled life. Went back at 11, slept like a log for almost 10 hours. Oh yeah!


11/7

We were supposed to clean the truck, but ... it was raining again. Heavily. So no truck cleaning. Oohh, so sad. (Hihi.)
In stead drank coffee (nescafe that is), breakfasted, long strolls (down memory lane actually; been here 4 years ago remember), drank softdrinks at a french guys bar, Internetted in a cafe (wifi is lousy here), napped (after 10 hours sleep? Errr... yes). Went for a beer, showered and about to get some food. Feel like a nice chicken noodle soup. Or shall I do a steak? Ok, we'll see. Laterz.

Oh yeah, there an ants nest in my .. laptop! Believe it or not. Every 5 minutes a little ant crawls out of the keyboard (and i brutally kill it; total genocide inside my laptop).

Well it turned out to be noodle soup after all (a good one, i must say), 999 (sooryu7.. result of es ant killing) over some family guy episodes (every bar here plays episodes of famous american tv series (mostly "friends", which i hate ... so far fetched!) and a beer.
Shopping for the long day on the truck tomorrwaaaaawww.;p (those ants make a complete mess) ow. Last beer with the british, short visit to the bar accros the street (far too nice, so better leave early) and now... finally ... yes ... a star trek episode.
Laterz... and good night (with loud bar music in the background).


11/8

Slept like a log, woke up at 6.15, little breakfast, packed and on the truck to the Kong Lo caves. Long drive ahead of us and since it has been raining so hard, a muddy road as well. Laterz...
Long drive, but arrived fairly in time (well done Adam) near the caves. A nice and cosy hotel and a dito restaurant made the evening and night a good one. They even did my laundry overnight (and lost a T-shirt of mine). Slept well.