Friday 8th March
There is a considerable amount to do and see around Muang Ngoi to justify spending a few days there, but I had done all of the trekking, caving and visits to waterfalls to do me, at least for the time being. Seeing as the others were moving on further north, I decided to head back to Luang Prabang where I would spend the remainder of my time in Laos, before getting my flight to Cambodia.
I said goodbye to Arnaud, Don and Femke, and got on the boat to Nong Khiaw at 09.30, arrivng an hour later. I planned to get an onward bus to LP at 11.00 and was expecting something more comfortable than the pick-up that was waiting for us as we got off the boat. There were about ten other travellers packed on the two rows on either side of the pick-up, and I convinced myself that it couldn't be any more uncomfortable than the boat trip we took to get to Nong Khiaw a few days earlier. It turned out to be OK, a lot better for me than the poor old local woman who spent most of the journey vomitting out the back, looking like she was dying of malaria (I had heard reports that the Lao tend to ham it up when they get a bit of motion sickness!).
We arrived at LP at 15.00 and I took a tuk-tuk back to the 'Thavisouk Guesthouse' where I had stayed on my last visit to town. From chatting to the others, it seemed like I wasn't going to get a better deal anywhere else and it seemed like a good idea to go with what I knew. Fortunately, the same room was available and I moved back in.
After catching up on some emailing, I got a pizza for dinner, savouring the change from sticky rice and boiled vegetables that had been the staple of my diet for the last few days. I realised that the United-Portsmouth FA Cup game was on TV, so I watched that and was horrified at the result: a 1-0 defeat for United, hardly deserved and primariy due to a completely incompetent referee. Never before has the term 'we wuz robbed' been more apt. Needless to say, I was as sick as a parrot.
I spoke to Maria to wish her a happy birthday and we chatted about the prospect of meeting up a week later in Cambodia. I am really looking forward to seeing her and Simon, and to have some familiar company on my travels for a couple of weeks.
