Luang Prabang – In Transit
We woke up this morning at around 9:00. After packing some of our things we headed out to get some breakfast. We decided on a cheap spot near our guesthouse. We all had pancakes and fruit shakes. I tried to order a corn shake but were told that they were out. Maybe next time…
After breakfast we returned to our room and finished packing. We checked out and then set out for the days activities. B decided to visit the waterfall after hearing Spizz and I talk about how cool it was. Us Coos Bay boys made headed for the Pak Ou caves.
The song tao (which I have learned is really sawngthawe but I am going to keep referring to them as sang tao because it is more fun) ride was quite long. After about 45 minutes we arrived on the rivers edge. To our surprise we then had to pay for a boat ($3) to take us across the MeKong to the entrance to the caves.
The boat ride was intense because were on a small, unstable boat. Still, we made it across the river and began exploring the caves. The caves were slightly disappointing. They were nowhere near as large or exciting as the ones in Phetchaburi (see November 29 – 30).
When we finished exploring the small dark caves we headed back to the river and got back in our boat. We took the short ride back to the other side and then returned to our vehicle. It was another long, dusty ride back into town.
Once back in town (13:45) we grabbed some lunch and then spent some time on the internet. From there we went back to our hostel and added some freshly done laundry to our bags. It was then time to chill out and do some reading. I finished “The White Masai” and then we cruised around town looking for a bookstore.
As we made our way into town we got sidetracked and instead visited the night market. While shopping we ran into B (who also loved the waterfall) and made a plan to meet back at the hostel at 18:00. Once Spizz was done purchasing some souvenirs it was almost time to go.
We all met back in the lobby of the hotel at 18:00. We grabbed our bags and caught a song tao to the southern bus station. We spent the next hour waiting for our bus. At 19:00 we loaded our stuff in the vehicle and piled onto the bus. Though everyone was assigned a seat, it was a sit anywhere bus.
I was optimistic that it would be a comfy ride because the seats next to me were empty. Unfortunately, just before the bus left the station two Canadian girls jumped on the bus and filled the seats. Even worse, they were incredibly stuck up and complained about everything. I found them to be unbearably annoying. The bus journey was no better. My seat did not recline and I had nowhere to rest my head. The road was so bad that even I was unable to fall asleep…It was a long, long night.
Things got better half way through the (9 hour) journey when the bus made a pit stop. Some people got off the bus and the Canadian girls moved to more comfortable seats. As such I had much more room and was able to get some sleep.
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