Arriving after a 13 hour night bus from Bangkok to the border town of Chiang Khong I spent my last day in Thailad relaxing and planning my trip in Laos. Stayed in a really nice guesthouse overlooking the Mekong river. Next morning was up early to cross the border. After a quick 40 baht boat ride across the Mekong I was in Laos. Border formalities were a little long, my passport passing through 5 people & I was left 35 Usd lighter. Found a plesant guesthouse and spent the day exploring the small town and getting my first taste of Laos. Which thanks to the french you can enjoy some great coffee and baguettes every morning.Its diffinetly a lot more remote than I expected. They serve a delicous Noodle & pork soup which can be eaten anytime and is served with a big bowl of salad and beanshoots, but the food has a bitter edge to it. Dried river weed is a local snack, and they make Rattan(as in the furniture) in to salads, also bamboo. So a big difference to Thai food. Left the border town the next day and make a 5 hour journey on a clapped out clunker of a chinese bus full of chain smoking chinese. Found myself in the town of Luang Nam Tha and again after a bit of a walk and some hand signals found a really nice guesthouse. The day was spent exploring the mornng market which was an eye opener and tasting some more local nosh at the night market, which springs to life every evening right across from the guesthouse. The next day was spent trekking in the nearby jungle, we had 2 guides 1 with machete for 3 people. It was a bit of a hike but very enjoyable, stopping of at little villages along the way. Have not decided were to next but any where I decide to go involves a 10 hour bus journey so not looking forward to that.
