On Monday we had a 6 hour bus trip from Vang Vieng to Louang Prabang - stunning scenery and not scary - the Lao people drive very carefully. Not a trip for those that get car sick - hundreds of hairpin bends. Two hours shorter would have been better but it was ok. Spent the first day looking around the old city, chatting to other tourists, crossing the Mekong to do a 2 hour circuit walk to old temples, and expanding our massage experience - we had the "Louang Prabang Experience" - a 1 hour oil massage, followed by another hour of steam treatment and then seaweed (with papaya, lemon, honey) being rubbed all over you and left to dry. Very relaxing to say the least.
Yesterday morning we started a 2-day trek/kayak. Must have climbed about 700m yesterday. We spent the night in a primitive village - we were exhausted and went to bed at 8 but literally right outside our mosquito net the locals partied on until well after midnight. Then one rooster started crowing at 4 am and all the others followed. When they realised it wasn't even light yet they shut up - until the real dawn at around 5 am. So I wouldn't say we had a great night's sleep. Today we hiked down to the river for about 2 hours and then did a very pleasant 3 hour kayak on the river with only a few baby rapids to contend with. (see photo below).
Half way up yesterday Graeme all of a sudden said "I don't think these are my sandals". InLaos you have to remove your shoes before entering a guest house or massage place. Graeme has no idea where he picked up someone else's sandals. They were the same style with velcro but his were grey and the ones he now has are brown!! Still that's not as bad as the time he collected his car from the garage where it had been serviced, drove to Melbourne uni and when they wouldn't let him in he indignantly said "But I have a parking permit. See the sticker on the windscreen". Trouble was there was no sticker as had taken another Datsun 1600; not his. No problem - he drove it back to the garage, parked next to his car, hopped out and drove off in the correct car!
Yesterday morning we started a 2-day trek/kayak. Must have climbed about 700m yesterday. We spent the night in a primitive village - we were exhausted and went to bed at 8 but literally right outside our mosquito net the locals partied on until well after midnight. Then one rooster started crowing at 4 am and all the others followed. When they realised it wasn't even light yet they shut up - until the real dawn at around 5 am. So I wouldn't say we had a great night's sleep. Today we hiked down to the river for about 2 hours and then did a very pleasant 3 hour kayak on the river with only a few baby rapids to contend with. (see photo below).
Half way up yesterday Graeme all of a sudden said "I don't think these are my sandals". InLaos you have to remove your shoes before entering a guest house or massage place. Graeme has no idea where he picked up someone else's sandals. They were the same style with velcro but his were grey and the ones he now has are brown!! Still that's not as bad as the time he collected his car from the garage where it had been serviced, drove to Melbourne uni and when they wouldn't let him in he indignantly said "But I have a parking permit. See the sticker on the windscreen". Trouble was there was no sticker as had taken another Datsun 1600; not his. No problem - he drove it back to the garage, parked next to his car, hopped out and drove off in the correct car!
sunset Louang Prabang
early morning alms giving to the monks
children we passed on our trek
the village we stayed in overnight
kayaking on the Nam Ou
a final swim before the drive back to town
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