Wow! These last few weeks have been so busy and so non stop my blog has kind of gotten away from me. I have hopped off the Stray bus now for a short stay in Sihanoukeville, Cambodia and finally have a chance to catch up on my blog, as well as sleep! It also helps that my plans for topping up my tan have been sabotaged by a grey sky. So what did I get up to in Laos?

Day 97 – We arrived in Huey Xia just over the boarder the night before but we didn’t really send any time there. We hopped straight on a boat and travelled on to our home stay experience. The boat was lush. Long and wide it was built to carry 60 people and our small group of 8 plus our guide had it all to ourselves. Even so we mostly stayed up one end where you could slide the roof back and catch some rays, which after a cold morning with the wind making us cocoon ourselves in blankets as we sailed down river, was very welcome.

It took us 6 hours to get to the small village. When we arrived we had a walk around and got to meet the chief. Unfortunatly we came on a Saturday so the school was closed and we couldn’t visit. In fact we were a little disappointed to spend more time on the boat than in the village, but at the same time we got to swim in the Mekong and watch the sunset. We had more time in the village later when we got to participate in a Hindu blessing. It was similar to what I had experienced at the Elephant Nature Park except that at the end we didn’t just get one piece of white yarn tied around our wrists for good luck but instead had every woman from the village circling round us, all jostling to tie another string on our wrists. I had 50 in total by the end of that amazing, hectic, fun ceremony. The villagers are early to bed and early to rise so it wasn’t long after that we snuggled down on our mattresses all in one big room together, feeling like kids at a sleepover again, and went to sleep.

Day 98 – Back on the boat and another long journey to Luang Prubang. We made a stop on the way though, checking out these cave temples that house hundreds of Buddhas. People bring them there for good luck and you are supposed to bring a Buddha in the meditation position associated with your day of birth, for example I was born on a Thursday, which is hands folded in the lap. It’s both a little eerie and quite beautiful to see lines and lines of statues in all shapes and sizes, some glittering and gold and new, some stone and wearing away, coated in dust. 

We arrived in Luang Prubang in the evening with time to explore the night market, though we would come back later or a proper shopping trip, but mostly all we wanted to do was pig out at Aussie bar on their massive burgers while the football was on. We met a couple of interesting Australians too who told us how they had fallen in love with this country that seems so much like the often overlooked little brother to Cambodia and Vietnam and left everything behind to be here. “Live to dream” he said, advice from a contented man who was doing just that.

Day 99 – With our first free day in Laos we were eager to check out the Kuang Si waterfalls, which we had heard were beautiful. Beforehand we had a wander and explored a few local temples but it was the waterfalls that really stand out that day. They were aqua blue, cascading into small and large pools, looking like something out of a fairytale. I half expected to see a mermaid sitting on the edge, combing her hair while another flicked her tail in the water below. While most of the waterfalls are small they all come from one huge drop at the back, tipping over the mountain, the sun gleaming just behind and almost falling down with it. We couldn’t swim in the top one but the others we splashed about in, secretly pretending to be mermaids too, while pesky fish tried to nibble at our feet.

In the evening we went back to the market and I actually enjoyed being able to haggle again, unlike Thailand where I had struggled. I ended up with a lovely painting and some very delicious passion fruit flavoured rum, the last thing I thought I would find in Laos!

Day 100 – I couldn’t have planned a better way to celebrate 100 days of travel if I had tried – as soon as we arrived in Van Vieng today we headed straight to the river, grabbing some tubes on the way, and went floating from bar to bar! This was something I had always pictured doing in Laos as it was the main thing I had heard that backpackers do and, although I think its become more low key over the years, it was just as fun as I imagined. What I didn’t imagine it being though was hard work! The river was running kind of low so there were a lot of times I had to frantically paddle to catch up with everyone or to get my bum unstuck off a shallow area! It was ok though as there were plenty of refreshments along the way to keep us going.

What made the day even better was a that I had been travelling with a great group of people since beginning the trip. I was tempted to stop off here but in the end I couldn’t resist staying with the majority of the group. We had Team Norway, four very pretty and elegant Norwegian girls who you would never guess were studying to be engineers, nor would you know they could throw down some serious dance moves as we discovered later that night when we went out for some drinks. Then there was the family, which I never expected to see on the Stray bus and yet they fit in perfectly. Debs, Pete and their two teenagers Harry and Ella had a great rapport with each other and us. These New Zealander’s were quickly beloved by all of us and always greeted by an affection call of “family!” There was Alan who had caught up with us just before our home stay and instantly clicked with us all. Abi, Jess and Ellie joined us too, having started the tour with Alan. Then there was Caitlin and Rachel, one Ozzy, one Brit, best of friends and partners in crime. How to describe them to you? I think what happened that night sums it up. We had played some beer pong, had many drinks and had just started dancing up on a little platform in one of the clubs when Alan slipped and twisted an already bad knee. I went back with him to make sure he was ok but not too long after I heard giggling and stumbling in the hall. I opened the door and immediatly burst out laughing. What I saw was a very drunk Rachel with Caitlin supporting her and a traffic cone clutched in her arms. When they eventually stopped laughing long enough to tell me why the hell they had a traffic cone, the answer was obvious, “because I’m a hazard!” Rachel said. That much was true.

Day 101 – After smuggling the traffic cone out, much to the amusement of the cleaning ladies, we got on the bus to the capital of Vientiene making some interesting stops along the way. The first was to a museum called Cope. The museum show cases the thousands of bombs that were dropped on Laos during the secret war. America had rules about where and when they could bomb Vietnam but those rules didn’t apply in Laos so they dropped bombs every 8 minutes for 9 years on this poor country and its innocent people.  We watched a documentary first about how many of these bombs are still live, wreaking havoc on communities even now as they lie buried under farms, villages and schools and the mammoth task of exposing and safely destroying them. It was fascinating. The museum itself showed testimonies from people who had lived through it or those who had found bombs. It had many casings and demonstrated how people even use them as stilts for their homes because there are so many bomb shells around. It was fascinating, only, like the white temple, we were rushed through and didn’t get to appreciate it properly. Stray is very much go go go and with long bus journeys and schedules to keep I can see why they pressure us bu that doesnt change the fact that I don’t enjoy that aspect of the trip at all.

Before arriving in Vientienne we also saw a temple and a big golden reclining Buddha as well as a mini Arc De Triumph. I would have preferred to stay longer at the museum. However, it was quite late by the time we arrived anyway and we didn’t get a chance to do much except eat a delicious Indian meal we had been recommended by a hostel owner in Chiang Mai. We also all got a starring role on their facebook page when the owner asked if he could have a picture only to take us by surprise by filming a short clip of us promoting his restaurant! 

Day 102 – Yet another long day of driving. It was nice to be covering so much ground but also exhausting. Most of the stops we made were at view points, showing the diversity of Laos from fields to towering mountains. It was all worth it though to arrive at River Front Resort, a haven in the middle of nowhere. Here we stayed in little bungalows connected by wooden walkways and ate dinner looking out over a crystal clear river. We were going to go for a swim in it but we picked a shallow spot so in the end I kind of waded across. Ellie, a girl on the trip we had picked up in Luang Prubang jumped in one of the long boats we were allowed to borrow and paddled across to rescue me on my rock. I thought we might both go in when I climbed on board but I gave the paddling a go and expertly got us across to the other side again. 

Finally, with a day stop over at this peaceful place, we had a chance to catch our breath and relax. We spent the evening playing cards and looking forward to another easy day the next day. Already we were almost done with Laos but there was still more to look forward to yet!