Today was the first leg of our slow boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang (stopping overnight in Pakbeng). We got tickets through BAP hostel (cost 50 000 Kip each more than buying at the ticket office) and on advice from the Canadians stocked up on munchies and cushions for the 6 hour trip. The hostel got us to the boat early and we sat waiting for hours for it to fill up. A hastily converted cargo vessel it had uncomfortably hard wooden benches arranged like an airline but it did have a clean loo.

By the time we left the boat was packed with young (and some annoying) western tourists. They probably call themselves ‘backpackers’, we call them ‘more honkies in one place than we have seen in months’. Most had crossed from Thailand that morning – we are now on the well known SE Asia loop trail. Good thing we had a few from our gibbon group to keep us company – it’s great to travel with people sometimes.

The trip was slow, hot, boring, uncomfortable and excruciatingly painful for our butts. The immense forests and odd gold temple lining the Mekong did nothing to offset the very noisy Argentineans that plonked themselves down next to us. Some people just don’t get it. Posters all over Laos provide useful information on social etiquette and yet one of the girls in the Argentine delegation was reading ‘A Short Introduction to Buddhism’… wearing a string bikini. She obviously hadn’t gotten to that chapter 🙂

We arrived an hour early at Pakbeng and as we walked up the road into town were overwhelmed with a wiff of the impossible… Boerewors ?!! Yip… it looked and smelled like it. We vowed to return to the braai after securing accommodation. The rest of our posse went looking for better lodging since our standard is pretty low. In retrospect we didn’t get real value for money. Two young Canadian Rastafarians also passed on our guest-house (The Phonethip). They wanted aircon and more comfort. We thought that was hilarious. Pakbeng is described as a bit of a dive. It survives just to service the daily slow boats and now during low season is very quiet.

The wors was expensive with a little too much ginger and garlic but it was excellent – some small tweaks and SA will have one less unique delicacy. We followed that with a perfectly acceptable dinner with our friends at an Indian restaurant. Tomorrow we have another hellish day. 9 hours or so on a boat. Not looking forward to it.

[Pictures: Boat-load of honkies]

– Posted from my iPhone via Wifi