River Paradise

Well I reckon we have been pretty fortunate with the accommodation we have had so far on the trip. The Prince Palace Hotel in Bangkok with its rooftop pool and amazing views over the city then the swish little bungalows at the Park & Pool in Nong Khai. Seems we struck lucky again here in Luang Prabang. Big old rooms on the first floor each with a balcony overlooking the Mekong. The sound of cicadas in the evening and a cracking pool to throw Lucas in too. The drawback (well more of a quirk than a drawback) is that the only way to access the hotel is by boat and some very dodgy wooden jetties and stairs. 

Much to Mrs Spooky's irritation it was an early start from Nong Khai. Mr Chettu and his van and car were waiting to leave at 7. By 7-30 we had negotiated the Thai border crossing and the Friendship Bridge and we were in the next new country of the trip. Finding currency before we left England had been fun. There are around 12000 Lao Kip to the pound. I got everyone dollars as they are fairly interchangeable. 

At the Lao border there was a $1 surcharge for getting your visa before 8am. The few at the back of our queue avoided the charge. There was no need for a passport photo as mentioned in the Lonely Planet, which was lucky as I had lost mine and the one we had of Lucas was when he was 3 months old. 

Wattay Airport is the Lao equivalent of Heathrow. Looks more like a 70's decor bus station though. Noodle soup for breakfast which even Lucas managed to cope with. 

We flew in to the mountainous region of Luang Prabang with some low cloud in the valleys. Slightly concerning from a safety point of view but probably not worth dwelling on. He got us down anyway. We were soon in the resort having crossed the river for the first time. 

After a Lucas throwing session in the pool (Marc won, he was getting some serious air) we headed back over the river and in to town for food and sightseeing. Laap is one of the local dishes the Lonely Planet recommend and I can back up this recommendation. Not so convinced by Beerlao though. I prefer Singha. Our joint bill came to 1.2million kip. About £8 a head. 

It's a chilled out country and town. The Main Street becomes the night market after dark selling a whole rang of necessities, like table runners (?) and Cobras in bottles. Lucas tried bartering and now wants to barter for everything. He now has Lao baggies to go with his Thai baggies. 

We have also booked up our trip for tomorrow involving elephants, waterfalls, caves and local whisky. Should be fun.