When we got to the boat, we were worried - it looked like all the good seats on the boat had been taken. I ran to the back and found two benches - enough space, anyway, even if it was cramped - but then I looked behind me and didn't see my friends. They had seen that another boat was letting people on. Apparently this time they were going to split us into two groups and take us on two smaller boats! So we were among the first to get on the second boat. We were about to take the benches in the front when I scanned the back of the boat and saw four cushy car seats! They had taken old car seats and bolted them into the boat. We ran to the back and secured them. It was soooo much nicer to sit in these than on the benches! We didn't even really need our cushions. The only downside was that it's louder at the back of the boat because of the engine, but the comfort was worth the noise.
Dayna's on the floor, but you can see our sweet seats at the bottom of the picture.
The boat actually left on time - at 9:30 - and I think I slept until noon. Haha! At some point Imogen and I went to the front of the boat and took some pictures.
Another boat we saw making the journey. It had an entire house in the back!
Imogen sitting on the deck in the front of the boat.
Imogen took this picture of me.
How people made themselves comfortable no matter where they were sitting:
Happily, we arrived at Luang Prabang around 4:30pm! We thought we wouldn't get there until much later. We found a guesthouse, ate crepes with chocolate and fruit (mmmm) and drank mango shakes, and then set off on foot to explore some of the temples of the city.
Luang Prabang is very beautiful. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site and it's clear that UNESCO pays for some of the upkeep of the town. Laos is a very poor country, so Imogen was surprised that there weren't as many street stalls and beggars as one might expect. She did get hounded by little kids trying to sell her trinkets, though.
That little boy there in the foreground got VERY angry with her when she did not buy from him and bought from his friends (who were there first!) instead. GO AWAY! he said. "Go back to England! You are not pretty!" So bitter for such a youngun!After seeing the temples we headed for the night market and the food market. The food market was a huge disappointment. I was hoping to get some real Lao food at last, but it seemed like this food street was set up solely to cater to tourists. Imogen did get a barbequed bird, though. We tried, but we couldn't eat it.
The night market was a huge success, though. They had things I hadn't seen in Thailand, so I ended up buying more than I had planned! (I had planned to buy...nothing?)
We were exhausted after our long day, but then we met an American guy from Los Angeles, Eddie, who found out that it was our last night in Laos so he said he'd buy us our drinks if we went out. Who can say no to that? We went to this extremely trendy bar called Hive. Not a Lao in sight, but it was a cool place. There were tables on fire and everything. I tried Lao rice whisky, which is really gross. It actually leaves a rice taste in your mouth.Flaming table!
The bar still closed pretty early, though - I think it was midnight. Imogen and I went back to the guesthouse to sleep, while everyone else went to some bar/bowling alley?? Apparently this bowling alley is the only place open past 12 in Luang Prabang. I didn't really want to pay for a tuk tuk all the way there and back, though. At 3:15 in the morning Imogen and I woke up to the sounds of our friends yelling and having a grand time at the tables on the porch of our guesthouse. We were highly annoyed and going to go out there and say something, but eventually everyone dispersed and the night was peaceful again.We had a flight to catch at noon the next day and wanted to wake up early to see a little more of the town before we left!
No comments:
Post a Comment