Chiang Mai to Laos

Road works Laos Style.
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After leaving Chiang Mai  on the 05 April we headed to Chiang Khong which boarders laos.  Chiang Khong sits on one side of the Mekong River and Laos is on the other.  There is not alot in Chiang Khong it is really just a stop before you cross the boarder into Laos.  The drive from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong took us around 7 hours.  Our accommodation for the night was a very cute guest house right on the Mekong River, you couldn't get a better view if you tried.  The following morning we crossed the boarder to Laos, by long boat which took about 15 minutes as it is just across the river.  From boarder control we boarded our boat which was about 50metres long and we had it to ourselves which was just awesome.  We spent two days travelling on the boat each consisted of about 6 - 8 hours, the first day we stopped at the Hmong Village which was pretty amazing, there a many villages along the Mekong River.  The housing is huts etc, nothing like we have ever seen before.  After been mobbed by the children of the village we carried on our way to the little river village of Pak Beng, where the electricity is generators and goes off at 11pm.  Accommodation again was a beautiful guest house which was quite a contrast to the surounds, dusty dirt road and little huts, we had a fantastic dinner that night costing a whopping $4 for starter, main and beers.  Can't get much better than that.  The following morning we left Pak Beng and headed for Luang Prabang where we stopped at a couple of villages and some caves before arriving at sunset in Luang Prabang.

Cabin of River boat.
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Luang Prabang is the old capital of Lao, it is so beautiful, once occupied by the french it consists of alot of old french residential buildings and cobbled streets and Royal Temples.  Luang Prabang is described as the Jewel of Laos.  It is very well known for its textiles and local crafts.  The restaurants are just fantastic and so cheap, we are spending around $3 for dinner which often includes our beer.  With the French influence, you can buy the best french bread we have ever tasted, and it is baked fresh every day.  So far in Luang Prabang we have visted the Royal Palace and a few other small temples as well as the Kuang Sii Waterfalls which are aboutn 28kms sth of Luang Prabang and just stunning.  A huge feature of the town is the night bazaar markets, where you can buy local crafts, textiles, local art and traditional weavings.  It is the perfect little place on the Mekong to just chill out with a cold beer and really good food.

Backpaking made to look easy.
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We leave Luang Prabang on the 10 April to fly to Vientiane which is now the capital city of Laos.