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We had travelled from Vang to Luang Prabang in a Hyundai mini bus / 'people carrier.'
With our bags strapped to the roof under a averagely water tight sheet of tarpaulin, we set off.
The journey lasted about 7 hours and took us high up into the mountains via windy little roads. On our way up a mountain a storm rolled in bringing with it thick mist. To everyone's shock in the bus, the driver decided to continue on going and only after a very nervous 10 minutes he thankfully pulled over at a mountain top cafe for a break. I think I can say that from our experiences of Laos bus drivers, they are all slightly mental.
During the break, the thunder and lightening that followed was pretty impressive but was over fairly quickly and once the storm had passed the weather cleared up and we continued our journey.
Potholes were everywhere on the roads (and dirt tracks) we used to get to Luang Prabang and like other places the little Hyundai took a battering. I will say this though, it kept going without once giving any sign of giving up. If anyone is buying a new car and questioning the reliability or build quality of a Hyundai - don't!! They would cruise effortlessly over the potholes in England. Can I also point out this is just my opinion - I am not endorsing Hyundai and can not be held liable if yours breaks.
We shared a tuk tuk into town with two Thai lads who were on our bus, who told us the reason they were in Laos was because one "had to leave Thailand" (HAD to leave!?). Despite this slightly baffling answer we hoped off, said our goodbye's and marched around town trying to find a place to stay. We eventually found one at about 10pm and immediately headed out for something to eat, a beer then headed for bed.
After a refreshing nights sleep we headed out for our first full day in Luang Prabang. We found a nice little roadside cafe, over looking the Mekong River and had some lunch. After our bellies were full we went for a stroll round the town. It was a very quiet place, filled with a large temple, Market and two different rivers running along side it. After the slightly manic week we had spent in Vang Vieng it was nice to stroll around with out the sound of drunk westerners and dub step as a soundtrack. Not that we hated Vang Vieng, far from it, it was just a nice change, like having peas instead of beans with your dinner.
Post stroll, we made our way back to a cafe we had spied earlier which sold some tasty looking treats. I went for a slab of chocolate cake, whilst Belle had Black Forest Gateau.
After 'having out cake and eating it' we then had the task of booking our travel from Laos back to Thailand. We had decided to have a break from buses and instead take a two day, one night, 'slow boat' down the Mekong River to the Laos / Thailand border. We managed to book these tickets fairly painlessly, however I managed to make both Belle and the travel agent laugh with a onslaught of questions regarding the journey. I think this was justified in order to make sure we were not getting 'done.' After my short interrogation I was happy enough and we purchased the tickets. It was only after we left the shop that Belle pointed out, something along the lines of "even if he was lying, we will be hundred's of miles away before we realise!" - valid point!
In the evening the strip of road our hostel was on was closed to traffic and hosted a night market. We made our way round this and again I realised being tall in South East Asia is tough. All the tarpaulin (which the stalls and road were under) wasn't the tallest of structures and we made our way out into the open in order to find some food. We opted for two massive baguettes from a road side stall. On our way back to the market we again stumbled upon the same cafe from earlier. They had yet more cakes on offer, we couldn't resist. 2 bathroom tile sized, chocolate and nut brownies were had. The heavens opened and this was our cue to head back to the hotel. An 8:30am boat awaited and we hit the hay wondering how far to Thailand we would get with our recently purchased tickets.
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