LittleSandyBeach

To get to Laos, we got a minivan to the Thai/Laos border where we got stamped out of Thailand before getting a bus over the Thai Laos Friendship Bridge IV. Once on Laos side, we paid for our visa on arrival which was $40 each (£29.57). We then got a tuk-tuk to Huay Xai village to get onto the slow boat. It was an easy process however we had no SIM card set up and no local currency. Luckily most places still take US dollar and Thai baht.

Our first leg of the slow boat took 5.5 hours instead of an estimated time of 8 hours so it definitely wasn’t as slow as we thought! They had snacks and drinks available onboard so we had to sample the Laos beer of course. We discovered the Mekong was quite a windy river with lots of rocky obstacles on the route. The mountainous views were amazing and we managed to see lots of wild buffalo cooling off in the river.

Once we arrived in the small village of Pak Beng we luckily found an ATM to withdraw 1.5 million Laotian Kip (£51.69!). A very kind lady also helped us set up a local SIM card which was a complicated process but much cheaper than a eSIM. We had a lovely dinner over looking the Mekong with this view… WOW.

In the morning we picked up a sandwich to go as the boat only sells crisps and we’re quite sick of them by now!

The last part of our boat ride we saw lots of small wooden shacks on the steep mountains, local children playing in the river and even elephants.

We would really recommend doing the slow boat as you get to see a lot more of the country. It was interesting to see one of new 20 hydroelectric dams being built on the Mekong where there’s already 167 in operation. Unfortunately in these types of places you are still always likely to find a lot of trash…. The Mekong is one of the top 10 most polluted rivers in the world with 95% of all plastic entering the sea via these rivers.

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO world heritage site that used to be a French colony so a lot of the buildings and streets have a very European style. There are lots of cafes and bakery’s so you really feel like you’re in a mini Paris! Just a lot less graffiti…

After checking into our hotel, we went down to a riverside bar to watch the sunset over the Mekong which was very pretty.

On our first exploration of the city we went to UXO Laos Visitor Centre. They educate tourists and locals about the unexploded bombs from the Vietnam war. The US dropped 2 millions tonnes of ordnances including 270 million cluster munitions. This was to try and stop weapons getting from north Vietnam to the south along the Ho Chi Minh trail. However, 30% of these cluster bombs did not detonate which still kill many Laotian people every year, especially farmers. The UXO clearance operation is working to clear affected land and educate young children about the dangers.

Next to the centre was a public park featuring a statue of Prince Souphanouvong who was the president of Laos between 1975-86.

We were happy to discover Luang Prabang has a night market with lots of different food options and also a separate clothes market.

Today we visited the Royal Palace National Museum. The Palace was built in 1904 and last occupied by crown prince Savang Vattana and his family. In 1975 the monarchy was overthrown and the palace was converted into a museum.

It was 35 degrees today and in the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia it feels extreme! Early night tonight as we’re getting up at 5am to see the Monks Alms Giving Procession.