8 November
Luang Prabang
MARK: Kim was off early this morning for another run while it was still misty and quiet on the streets. She came back sweaty but happy and jabbering about how cool the town is. So we both showered and then check out of our room as we were going to find a place with an ensuite and for cheap too! After a nice breakfast we proceeded to enquire with almost every guesthouse in Luang Prabang… seriously we've probably been to them all!! We finally found a nice little place called Boungnasouk Guesthouse (Tel: 85671212749) where they charged 50,000 KIP with an ensuite and it was very centrally located = perfect… We had spent most of the day walking around the town and looking at guesthouses so were both quite tired and opted to spend the remainder of the afternoon at a restaurant overlooking the Mekong drinking a few beers…

There are a few bars in Luang Prabang and they're all located on one stretch of road behind a hill called Phou Si Hill (means "Sacred Hill") and is crowned with a Buddha statue that can be seen for miles. Grant if you're reading this then yes, I laughed as well when I first saw the name of the hill… Anyways, we ventured out for happy hour 241 cocktails at Hive bar and then for dinner next door at Lao Lao Gardens which gives you a free shot of Lao Lao whiskey to all customers… Our decisions always seem to be influenced by booze!!... Now Lao Lao whiskey is not normal whiskey. It's made from rice which is fermented to produce whiskey. It's green and actually tastes quite lekker but has a MEAN 50% kick to it which doesn't actually kick in for a while… so you have a few and think you're a whiskey god and then later you find out you're not…. We had a Lao style barbeque dinner for 2, which is where they bring hot coals and place them in the middle of your table and you cook the food yourself. Similar to a hot rock dinner. The waiter shows you how to cook a bit and then leaves you to fend for yourselves. We fended pretty well and cooked up a tasty meal of chicken, beef and fresh veggies & soup (well we hope it was fresh!)… After dinner I realized that we didn't have enough local currency to pay for the meal so left Kim at the bar and went off to try and find a shop that would exchange the Thai Baht I had on me… couldn't find one so came back to tell Kim I'd have to run back to the guesthouse and fetch more money, to find that she actually had 50,000 KIP on her. Paid the bill, and while we were paying this Dutch chap about 50years old started talking with us. He later told us he thought Kim was Dutch. Dutchie turned out to be a gay, 50yr old psychiatrist called Hans who was living and teaching in Luang Prabang and married to the barman!! We spent the next 2hrs talking with Hans, who was a very interesting guy in fact… and this is the point of traveling - to meet random & interesting people. We planned to go see the Kouang Si Waterfalls the next day and when we told Hans he made a quick phone call to a Thai friend of his called Boon who said he'd pick us up at 11am and drive us in his Tuk Tuk to the falls for 30,000 KIP each - which was 20,000 KIP cheaper than the standard rate… Happy and pleased we had another Lao Lao whiskey (is that about 5 or 6 now?!!) with Hans we said cheers and headed off home.

Stopped to have a pancake on the way home and got talking to an English couple (Emily and Chris) who I thought had also been having a raging party, but turns out had not even had one drink yet. We all headed off for a beer back at the bars which we had just come from. Some good conversation & laughs (probably at my Lao Lao induced expense), an incident with a barbed wire fence and soon Kim and I were home, me lying face-down on the bed snoring loudly…