We were all woken with a loud banging on our doors very early this morning. Who could it be? and what do they want? On opening the door, we remembered Ms Werba was our early morning wake up call. After jumping out of bed we headed to the dining room for breakfast Bread and eggs were on the menu again and much to our delight there was also fried rice.
After our meals we packed up our bags and hopped onto the bus to begin our very, very, very long bus journey to Luang Prabang!!! We drove for 8 hours along many winding roads that fealt like you were going nowhere and we were all in awe as we passed the most incredible sceneries. We drove through the beautiful mountains that were a vibrant lush green colour that brightened up our journey. This was due to the fact that Laos is coming off the end of their wet season, which runs from May to October and their dry season runs from November to early May.
Our first break was a short stop off at the top of a mountain with the viewpoint having the most spectacular scenery. The views from the toilets were extraordinary. It beats having to read the paper.
At about 1pm we reached our mid way point of our trip and we split into two separate groups to buy lunch at different restaurants. The restaurants happened to have exactly the same menu.
-Fried rice with a choice of meat (The bomb)
-Noodle soup with a choice of meat (Even better)
-Noodles with a choice of meat (meh)
After a few more long hours of winding roads and steep mountainous climb, we were headed for the home straight to the hotel. As we arrived to the hotel , we didn’t know what to expect. From the outside the hotel looked ok, but when we entered the lobby and checked out the pool, we knew it was the best hotel we have been to yet! After being united with our new room mates, we unpacked and went for a refreshing swim. Our pool it stunning. We played ball and laughed and had time to unwind before we got ready for dinner.
The mini buses drove us to dinner and we feasted on traditional delicious Laos food. Afterwards we split into small groups and headed to the night markets for an hour of shopping. As we tried our best to bargain with the experienced locals, we stumbled upon the other BE group from St Leonard’s. We exchanged stories and laughs for a short time and then went our separate ways back to the hotel.
After a long but exciting day, we headed to bed for a much needed rest in preparation for the big day ahead of us.
By Matt H and Victoria K
