We lost and gained a few extras to the group when we left Chiang Mai - and we now have a healthy mix of Canadians, Brits, Aussies, an American and a Dutch girl. En-route to Chiang Khong, we stopped off in Chiang Rai to take a look at the white temple. It’s just bizarre - weird skulls and sculptures and references to movies (The Matrix and Predator) and of course, Michael Jackson.
After arriving in Chiang Khong and doing our paperwork to cross the border the next day, we all went for some food at a pizza place (loose term, it definitely wasn’t your average Italian) down the road. After the last few days in Chiang Mai, it was an early night for most. The guest house was cool - there were free bikes, Wifi, and they made us pancakes for breakfast!
The Border crossing into Laos was interesting - The border is the Mekong river so after checking out of Thailand we hopped on a small and very precarious looking boat to go over. Strange that you can see Laos literally across the river! I doubt it would have gone so smoothly if it hadn’t have been for the Stray Crew - its very unclear what you actually have to do, but it does involve your passport, paperwork and handing over some American money.
Once over the river, a local guide joined us and gave us a low down of do’s and don’ts when in Laos, including no PDA, no pointing your feet at people, and not touching people’s heads. Generally it is a society of courtesy and respect.
We then caught a tuk tuk to the boat landing for a slow boat (6 hours), again along the Mekong, towards our first stop in Laos, Pak Beng. It was well long and there was definitely more people than seats (which were old car seats), plus a few chickens thrown in for good measure.
After a quiet night in Pak Beng (well for us anyway), we were on the boat again, to Ban Lad Khammune, a small village on the way to Luang Prabang. Await the next installment!