GETTING BACK TO THAILAND

After gibbons I returned to Huay Xay and had to stay there stay for the night as the only bus destined for Luang Prabang had departed about 20 minutes before we arrived to town. Instead, I joined a celebratory dinner with the gibbons crew. The next day, I took a “VIP” night bus to Luang Prabang. WOST NIGHTBUS EVER. And I mean it this time... I was sitting at the very back, sandwiched between two local men, the chair did not recline one bit, the lights got turned on every few hours and to top it off, the AC went off in the middle of the night and I legitimately through I was going to suffocate. The road was unpaved and windy... a baby crying all night. 15 hours or hell...

When I got off the bus, I ended up joining a group of English people, 5 girls and 3 guys. I had been to Luang Prabang before so I sort of knew my way around. It was a challenge to find a hostel for all 9 of us but we managed to find an affordable place by the riverside.

We all met up for dinner and had a few bottles of wine while watching the sunset behind the river. Anthony, Brandy, Martin and I decided to go for drinks in the quest to find the infamous bowling alley. Luang Prabang has an 11:30pm curfew; at that time no one is allowed on the streets, but everyone who goes to Luang Prabang hears the rumors.... at 11:25pm sharp, the tuk tuks lined up outside of the bars and took us to a local club. There were about 15 of us. It was quite the experience... trying to sing along to the lyrics, and taking pictures with the locals; not sure who found the other more of a novelty. The club closed at 12:00pm (the actual curfew). When we stepped outside we met a local lady, it was her birthday and so we sang as she did cartwheels and jumped around... she must have been around 28. The tuk tuks then drove us to the bowling alley where we continued to drink beer lao. What a bizarre way to end the night. On the way back, the tuk tuk was so full that Anthony and I had to hop on top.... what a night.

local club

the ONLY place open past midnight 

I was meant to leave early the next morning and it was already 4 am so the three of us tried to stay up all night but we fell asleep and didn’t wake up until 11 the next day... needless to say, the bus was gone. I decide to take the rest of the morning off, went to a spa, got a massage and a manicure, and switched my bus ticket to a later one.

We rented bikes for the afternoon and went about exploring the beautiful streets of Luang Prabang filled with little shops, restaurants, temples and nature alike. At lunch, we found a really cool restaurant across the river (Dyen Sabi). They came to get us on a little canoe, which brought us across and through a hidden tree path to get there. It was hidden between the bamboo trees, with tables on the floor and lots of cushions. It was fantastic!

On our way back to the hostel we saw a dog in a cage by one of the little restaurants on the river. It was a horrific site. It looked sad and scared. It was skinny and sitting very still. We asked the man what it was the for and he said “eating” as he pointed at one of the tables  who was enjoying this delicacy. I never felt so nauseous and uncomfortable.

Spent the day exploring Vientaine 

That night I took a 12 hour the bus to Vientaine and spent the day walking around exploring the capital.  In the afternoon, another 12 hour bus to Bangkok. We arrived there by morning. On the bus, I had met a girl who was also heading to the islands. The two of us broke into a random hostel to take a shower. It had been about 2 days of traveling already so it needed to be done as we would be spending a 3^rd night on transportation. We went to central bkk for the day, spent the day window shopping and went to see a Batman. Then off to the train station again.