So finally in Laos and on the water. This was to be quite an epic journey down the Mekong. I'd already got about a third of the way from Chiang Mai and the next two days would take me to Luang Prabang in Laos. On first sight the river boat was more comfortable that I'd expected with a roof and bench seats, a loo and a small drinks bar on board. I don't think I'd expected much more than a large raft. After a few hours though the benches are hard and uncomfortable. The first day I was quite lucky though and I'd met three British girls, Abby, Hannah and Alice and we all camped out on the floor by the luggage at the front of the boat with the cushions we'd bought at the border which was much more comfortable. Floating down the Mekong, chatting with friends, drinking beer, reading and watching the world go by - what a great way to travel. The scenery is varied and in places spectacular. It differs from lush riverbanks with small villages to mountainous craggy hills where the river narrows and the captain has to navigate the rocky out crops. We stopped along the way to let villagers on and off the boat - well it is a slow boat - the stopping service of the Mekong.
After six hours we arrived in Pak Beng. After the talk from the man in Huay axi I had expected something from Pirates of the Carribean with a murderous throng of villagers ready to cut out throats and run off with our money, however Pak Beng was a modest little village on the river. Whilst the people at the pier selling their guest houses and trying to carry your luggage were a little pushy, it was nowhere near as scary as we'd been told. By that time we had joined a group of Aussies, Swedes and Brits so we all negotiated a room rate at one guest house for all thirteen of us. The Guest house was very basic but just about clean and it had a restaurant where we all ate that night.
The next day the journey wasn't quite so comfortable as the two boat loads of people that had left Huay axi were put onto one slightly larger boat. I thought it would be a long day but once we got started I managed to get comfy and the scenery was even more spectacular. There was an outside bit to this boat so I got comfy at the front and was surprised when we pulled into Luang Prabang.
I've been in Luang Prabang for nearly a week now and the city has really grown on me. I stayed with Alice, Hannah and Abby until Wednesday and then moved to a small guest house near the river where I'm staying until Monday.
The first few days were spent wandering the city, visting the palace museum, trying to book a trip to the Plain of Jars and sampling Laos food. I discovered a cute little bookshop that serves great food and shows British films for free in the upstairs tea room. On Sunday we watched Slumdog Millionaire. It was my brithday on Monday so we had a lazy day and then the whole group went for dinner and drinks. As there's a midnight curfew in Laos the only place open after 12 is the bowling alley so bizarrely spent the last hours of my birthday drinking Beer Laos and bowling very badly (one probably had something to do with the other) to Laos Pop Music.
On Tuesday we nursed our hangovers and then went to Kuang Si Waterfall. About a 40 minute ride in a truck through the countryside, the waterfall is really beautiful with the falls and then numerous pools and streams below. I was persuaded to take a dip in the swimming area which was lovely but absolutely freezing. After the fall we visited a bear rescue centre. It was only small but had about six or seven brown bears lazing away. They looked very content.
On Tuesday night we discovered the street food at the night market and stuffed ourselves full of veggie buffet for GBP 1. 50 each.
I said goodby to the girls on Wednesday as they were going to Vang Vieng. I might meet up with them again in Vientiane. I walked out to Wat Xieng Thong which is one of the oldest Wats in Laos and very beautiful. Luckily I was sitting in the temple when a couple came in with a guide so I eavesdropped and learnt all about the temple. I learnt that one of the roof beams is actually a sort of aqueduct where the monks pour fresh water from the mountains. It goes into a glass case containing a buddha figure to give the buddha a shower.
After picking up a booklet about volunteer projects in Laos I visited the Big Brother Mouse Project yesterday morning and helped with an English conversation class. Big Brother Mouse is a literacy project to help Laos students learn English. They publish books, hold book parties in remote villages and hold English classes. I helped two Laos high school students and a trainee teacher with their English conversation and grammar. It was really interesting as I learnt a bit about Laos and their familes and way of life as well.
I'm really enjoying my time here and I'd really like to come back and spend longer. It's a peaceful and serene city, the people are friendly and courteous and I feel very safe here. Orangerobed monks walk around the streets carrying umbrellas and the views across the rivers are fantastic.
Anyway that's about brought me up to date. This afternoon I'm going to the Laos red cross to book a massge and sauna and tomorrow I'm going to get up early to see the monks receiving alms and spend the day learning Laos cookery. I'm looking forward to seeing Irene my Dutch friend again who arrives tomorrow afternoon. Next week I'm off to the east of the country to Phonsavan and the mysterious Plain of Jars before heading to Vientaine and back to Thailand. More blog and pictures to follow soon.

Well I'm three weeks into my travels but it feels like I've beeen away longer as I've packed quite alot in. I finished my few days in Chiang Mai last week with a day at the Chiang Mai Cokery school. We started with a visit to the local market where one of the chefs explained all the various ingredients we'd be using. I was a bit alarmed by 'snake head fish' but thankfully we didn't see any of the head. After the market we went by truck out to their school in the countryside, about twenty minutes from Chiang Mai. We cooked all day and I learnt Coconut Milk Soup, Spicy Chicken Noodles, Red Fish Curry, Papaya Salad and Banana Leaf Cake. I also ate what I cooked so felt a bit stuffed by the end of the day. I met a new friend at the cookery school, a girl from Amsterdam called Irene who is also travelling alone. We went out to the night market and the river bar in the evening and plan to meet up again in Luang Prabang.
The next day I began my journey to laos, after a lazy day in Chiang Mai hanging out in the garden at Parami Guest House and playing with the cats. I was evetually collected from the Guest House by a man in a truck and taken to a rather run down office where a woman in comical pyjamas told me to wait on for the overnight bus to the border. The bus driver she said would stop and yell 'Chiang Khong' and then I could get on. I wasn't convinced! An hour later, whilst the lady and her son drove their motorbikes in and out of the shop, there was still no sign of the shouting bus driver but eventually after a few frantic phone calls by pyjama lady a minibus turned up and and on I got.
After several stops and lots of crazy driving around hair pin bends we finally arrived at the border about 3am. I'd been told we'd arrive at 5am and go straight to the boat but actually we were herded off the bus into a guest house for a few hours sleep. Bleary eyed and confused I wasn't quite sure what was going on but after being cramped up in a freezing cold air-con minibus for the past six hours I wasn't complaining and crashed out.
In the morning we were woken by a singing guest house owner. He wandered around singing 'Good morning, good morning, breakfast' to his own peculiar tune.
The began the process of getting across the border. We were taken first in a truck to a booth where we could buy photos and american dollars for the visa fee, then to a 30 minute queue to clear Thai immigration, then to a longtail boat across the river - hooray I'm in Laos - then to another 45 minute queue to get a Laos visa, then another 30 minute one to get the passport stamp to enter the country, then to a cafe where a Lao man basicallty told ud we'd be robbed and murdered in our beds if we went on the bost to Pak Beng and how we should get on his bus to Luang Prabang, then the brave (or stupid) amongst us were taken by truck to the river where we waited for another half an hour for customs to check our passport again and get out boat tickets and then FINALLY we got to get on the boat, where we waited. We left the guest house at 8am and after 4 hours we finally left the border and made for Pak Beng.