We got up late this
morning and walked into town, stopping at the food stalls near the
night market for some crepes, an egg and bacon roll, and a very
watery mango shake. We then walked down to the river to look for the
ticket office for the slow boats to Thailand. We found where we
thought it should be, but of course it wasn't there – and after
asking around a bit we discovered that it had been moved about ten
kilometres out of town. Thus thwarted, we decided to just wander
around the town for a while. As we walked, Kate stopped in at the
travel agents we passed, virtually all of which quoted 320,000 kip
for the boat trip – the best offer was 280,000 – but Kate thinks
we can get it for 220,000 if we buy direct from the boat people,
which, even factoring in the cost of a tuk-tuk ride out and back
would be a significant saving.
We stopped at a
little riverside cafe for some iced coffees and then continued
walking, eventually reaching a little tip of land where the river
that runs past the Utopia Bar enters the Mekong. While we sat in the
shade and rested, we started talking to a few of the tuk-tuk drivers
who were also sitting around having a rest. We had a bit of a go at
them for their practice of charging per person rather than per
journey, explaining that pretty much nowhere else in the world does
it that way. Kate smilingly told them how greedy they were, but they
just laughed and shrugged their shoulders.
We then walked along
a road that ran through the centre of the old town. This older part
of Luang Prabang is World Heritage-listed, and having been a tourist
draw for some time, it's noticeably more sophisticated than a lot of
other places we've visited lately. And what with the visible colonial
influence in the architecture and the cuisine on offer, the town has
an almost European feel to it – a little peaceful Old World
sanctuary from the general chaos of Southeast Asia.
For lunch, we
stopped off at a bakery for some pretty good baguettes and a beer and
then headed back to the hostel, stopping in at a little covered
market, where we bought some rain covers for our backpacks and a new
pair of sunglasses for me (the lenses of the cheap Oakley knock-offs
I bought in Phnom Penh are so cloudy it's like they're permanently
covered in condensation). Back at the hostel, we talked to the owner,
who suggested that rather than going out to the slow-boat office now
to buy our tickets we should just go out and buy them in the morning,
prior to departure. As it's low season, the boat is unlikely to be
full and we're sure to be able to get on. Sounds like a plan.
When we got to the
room, Kate and I started trying to put together an itinerary for our
upcoming trip to Burma – and to look at flights to see when would
be the best (cheapest) time to go. We then walked back into town for
dinner at the same restaurant as last night. When Kate and the girls
had finished eating, I sent them back to the hotel, before finishing
off my beer, paying the bill and then wandering around town buying
some food and drink for the boat tomorrow. The three of them began
the day sneezing and have progressively been feeling more and more
ill as the day progressed. Kate is feeling particularly rough, and
the travel-weariness I mentioned earlier, combined with this nascent
flu, led her to suggest at one point during our Burma discussions
that we scrap it altogether, but I would hate to miss out on going
there – and I know she would to – so when we got back to the room
I took things in hand and decided on our itinerary and booked our
flights, as well as some accommodation in Yangon. As money is getting
a bit tight, I decided to keep things brief, so we'll only be there
for nine days and will only see Yangon and Bagan.
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