Slowing Things Down in Laos

So we're finally in Laos. The trip from Bangkok via Chiang Mai, in the north, was an interesting one.

Lana bought us tickets for the overnight train in a "deluxe" aircon coach. Just getting to the train station was fun as we always have to really cram ourselves into the taxis here.

The train was a real treat - full of tourists and friendly porters and "stewardesses" for lack of a better word. Most of us had a fitful sleep and arrived in Chiang Mai, no worse for ware. Chiang Mai was not what I had expected and it had grown a great deal since Lana had visited 20 years ago. As the second largest centre in Thailand the pace was just slightly less than Bangkok's. Where we expected to do a great deal of shopping - we ended up disappointed with the quality of the wares in the night markets and bazaars. Lana had gone wild on her last visit and bought the lion's share of her trinkets and clothing here. The big hit was a visit to an "umbrella factory" where talented t-shirt artists did original drawings on shirts. Levi ordered a Cobra on the front and a Scorpion on the back. Quinn was jealous of the shirt and we've been looking for this type of service ever since. We also visited a huge shopping mall on the advice of a bazaar vendor who said there are no child sizes in the markets. The place had the most interesting food fair you've ever seen. I was brave and had a lunch that was a little sketchy as I couldn't tell what the meat was. Levi and I watched the movie 2012 with Thai subtitles while the girls shopped, with little success, for three hours.

We decided on a package deal to get us across the border. This package consisted of a 7 hour van ride to Chiang Khong - a small town near the border. We had a pleasant overnight stay at a really cool Guest House and then were shuttled to the border to be ferried across the Meh Khong river, where we were loaded ( a lot like cattle) onto an overcrowded Slow Boat for a two day trip down this majestic river. We stopped for a single night in remote Pak Beng - a riverside village. The second day on the boat delivered us safely to "the jewel of Laos" - Luang Prabang.

So today we have decompressed with some excellent/expensive coffee, and a visit to numerous travel guides to plan our next week or so. We think this will include a Mahout (elephant trainer) camp, a trek into the jungle to stay at a local village and a Laos cooking course for the girls. We really like this place and are in no hurry to leave.

The internet, like the service and pace of life in general, is slower in Laos - something we're adjusting to.

I've got dozens of great photos to post. Coming soon.

Greg