This morning we had an early start, but not as early as Sarah who set her alarm for 6:30am Melbourne time, only to find it was 2:30am local time. After having a shower and getting ready for the day ahead, Sarah finally realised she was four hours ahead of schedule!!
We packed our bags, and headed off in the early morning down the majestic Mekong River. The day proved to be a very relaxing one. The boat trip was a great time to socialize, and without doubt, the guys will be experts at playing cards when we return! Around 12:30, lunch was served; it was a delicious variety of traditional Laos food consisting of Fried Noodles, Rice, Chicken Drumsticks, Chicken Curry and Rice Paper Rolls.
The front of our boat had a great balcony/platform, roomy enough for two people. Everyone was given permission to take it in turns to sit out there. The aesthetic view on both sides of the Mekong was stunning, and with many leisurely games of cards played and pages read, we arrived at the Pak Ou Caves. A multitude of engraved sculptures inside the limestone cave made for a wonderful temple and the exploration of the ancient caves proved fascinating.
We arrived in Luang Prabang at 4:30pm, left the boat and quickly moved to our beautiful 4 star hotel. We played a couple more games of cards, had a few showers and left the hotel for another great dinner (on the way we dropped off a tonne of washing for laundering). Then it was off to the night market where there was time for more shopping and a chance to appreciate some of the local crafts.
We returned back to the hotel, exhausted and drained of energy. We were expecting a nice sleep in and a good night’s sleep, in our four star bed. However, we were let down by the depressing fact that we had to pack our bags for the eventful day ahead of us, and wake up at seven.
Charlie and Saskia
Washing time…