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We've made it to Luang Prabang! On Thursday we started our trip to the border by minibus and after 5 hours and a few stops we made it to Chiang Kong, a small town that sits on the Thai side of the Mekong. We had a really good group of people and all went out for some drinks to get to know each other. Drinks turned into a lot of drinks and we had a great night in the only bar in town, the owner of which couldn't have been more happy. She even drove us back to our hotel in the back of her truck!
Saturday morning we headed nice and early to the border. More people had arrived and by this point there were quite a few people. It took roughly an hour to get through all the checks as it was the most inefficient process of all time. What was funny was the different prices they charge you for your visa depending on your nationality. For some reason Canadians have to pay a lot more than everyone else and no one could tell us why. After everyone had made it through we were bused down to a small jetty and loaded onto a long narrow boat, already packed with people. The 5 hour trip to Pak Beng was really fun as everyone was in good spirits. We enjoyed trying to talk to the locals and they were more than happy to share food. One of the local children took a shining to Sarah and was constantly trying to run through people's legs who were standing up which made for some very surprised faces.
We had pre booked some accommodation in Pak Beng and the room was lovely. We had a balcony that overlooked the Mekong and a private bathroom! What more could you ask for? We met up with the other guys and had some food before retiring to bed.
Saturday morning we were on the boat by 8 to secure some good seats but we didn't leave until 9.30. This gave people the chance to do supply runs back into town. I had noticed that a few kids had these frozen juice cups and I really fancied on as the day was already starting to heat up. Pak Beng is only one street which is about 200m long so I trekked up it looking for the drinks to no avail. On the way back to the boat feeling slightly defeated I saw a kid drinking one and ask him where he got it. He pointed at a shop so I went in and tried to explain. The lady looked very confused and then told me to follow her. She took me into the kitchen in her house and opened up her freezer and gave me 2. I asked her how much and she just shrugged so I gave her 5000 kip and that was that. They were delicious.
The boat left just before 9.30 but after about 10 minutes it was obvious things weren't going well. The engine stopped and they found the source of the problem. The throttle wasn't working. This them led to the captain and his 2 5 year old sons pulling up all the floorboards down the middle of the boat and using telephone wire, rewiring the whole thing. To everyone's amazement the engine started fine and we gave the captain a big cheer and the kids so cookies. The kids then discovered Sarah had an app on her iPad where they could do jigsaw puzzles so that was them entertained for the next couple of hours.
The journey was a bit more sketchy on the second day as the river seemed to be flowing faster. The boat also wasn't balanced very well so every corner we went round we leant a bit to much for comfort. Despite all this we made it safely to Luang Prabang and had a great evening in the night market getting some food and exploring all the stalls!
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Nana and Grandad Great, the people sound so hospitable x