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After Luang Prabang we set off on our luxury yacht up the Mekong to Nong Khiaw. Ok, so it was a little less luxury and more like a wooden canoe with 14 baby chairs, however, the journey itself was actually really nice as the scenery the whole way was amazing. Despite the fact that we had to all get out and push the boat for a little while in shallow water, it was very relaxing. We decided to go to a place called Muang Niaw which is further up the river and only accesible by boat. It's a really small place surrounded by mountains and very very basic amenities. We got ourselves a hut for $2 and decided to freshen up in the shed bathroom outside, only to find that there was no water!! Oh well! We then discovered that there is NO electricity after 10 pm (not that there was much during the day!) and everywhere closed so we forced to go to bed! The next day we got up early and went out for a hike in the mountains! It was challanging terrain made worse by the fact that we got caught in a thunderstorm but we made it back to camp and found a place that had hot water in a bucket for a "shower"!
The next day we went back to Luang Prabang to catch a bus South and yet again the bus journey there was not simple. First of all, it wasn't even a bus, it was a sangthaw, which is a pick up truck with benches in. They can fit comfortably 10 people but in true Asian style we were in there with at least double so poor old Jess had to stand on the outside and hang on for dear life for the 5 hr ride (with one stop to replace a flat tyre!). We stayed in Luang Prabang for 2 nights before going to Vang Vieng.
Vang Vieng is where the majority of backpackers in Laos are for one reason...TUBING!!! You pay $3 and get a huge tractor tyre inner tube and a tuk tuk to somewhere outside town and spend the day floating back down the river! Along the way there are several bars to stop for beer and massive rope swings for your enjoyment!! We think that it was especially fun because, even if we had the weather, tubing in England would be shut down in seconds for several hundred health and safety reasons!! It was that good that we did it again the next day! We were both sad to leave as we could have gone tubing for weeks and not been bored!
After a stop in Vientiane to pick up visa's we had our last few days in Laos in a place called Don Det, a small island, which is part of the 4000 Islands in the very south of the country. It was really beautiful and peaceful and we even had bad weather for 1 day which was a highlight as it meant a day without sweating!! We were both a bit dissapointed that we couldn't spend more time in Laos as it's a really really cool place but time is short so we crossed the border into Cambodia.
We had one night in Kratie to do a boat trip to see some Irrawaddy dolphins which live in the Mekong. They are the only freshwater dolphins in the world and there are only 100 left so we feel very privalaged to have seen them! We then got the bus to the capital Phnom Penh and found it to be so far so so good. It's quite a modern city, to say how poor the country is and there's a lot to do which is good as we are here for 5 days! So far, we have spent most of our time at an orphanage. The first time we went there we were so shocked at how excited the kids were to see us! They ran down the road and were hugging us and jumping on us! We did some drawing and dancing and piggy backs etc but mostly the kids just wanted to hug us and sit on our knee! We thought it would be quite sad but they are really well cared for and have clothes and food and most of them get to go to school most days so it was nice to see.
We've got 3 days left here and plan to go to the orphanage again and also to the Killing Fields and prison museum from the genocide in 1975-79 which we've heard is quite depressing but a must see. Then we're off to Ankor Wat for some temple action!!
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