travelling hibbo

After an early start in Chiang Mai we made our way to the local bus station for our long journey by local bus to the Laos border. After nearly leaving my wallet at the station (que last minute panic involving local Police) whilst buying a few tins of the Thai Nescafe Ice Coffee (this stuff kept me going) we boarded a very cramped bus to take the 6 hour journey via Chiang Rai. We were all tired but were kept awake by the DVD player which was playing terrible Thai music videos at horrendous volume. It was so loud that any attempt to sleep was impossible. I tried to block out the caterwauling by listening to Rage Against the Machine whilst wearing a wolly hat. It didnt even come close to working.

The sealed roads gave way to dirt tracks and finally we arrived in Chiang Khong a sleepy village which felt typical of a border town. Only really there because it was there. We enjoyed our last Thai meal in a restaurant overlooking the border between the two countries, the Mekong River. We could finally see Laos and I couldnt wait to get across the river and sink into Laos time.

The gateway to Laos

The border crossing was pretty unofficial. There was a smnall immigration office (to the left of the photo) and a few rickety old boats moored up and ready to take people across the no-mans-land or international waters of the Mekong River.

The border and Laos in the distance

The group at immigration

At this point we said goodbye to our guide. Unbelievably he had to take the 6 hour bus journey back to Chiang Mai before getting back on the overnight train to Bangkok. There were no groups coming back the other way so he was stuck with the incredibly long journey back to the capital. No regional airports here to make life easy.

We walked to the shore of the Mekong and met our new guide who would take us through Laos to the capital Vientianne and back to Bangkok. We boarded our boats and made our way across the murky international waters of the Mekong to the small Laos border town of Huay Xai.

The passenger and car carrying boats

We made the very short crossing to the other side and I finally set foot on Laos soil.

Laos ahoy!

Well, if the Thai border felt a little relaxed then the Laos border patrol were positively horizontal.

Thinking of the Australian border with its mass of Police, sniffer dogs, CCTV cameras and intimidating atmosphere I couldnt help but smile at the laidback border Police who looked more like they were selling ice creams than guarding an international border.

Thankfully the administrative side of things was fairly smooth allthough it still took at least 45 minutes to get us all through. We paid our fee to the cashier, collected a receipt then went to another counter to get our passports stamped and our photos attached to the paperwork. While all of this was going through I wandered into the amusingly titled duty free shop. The small shop was basically full of 10 year old French red wine and a mixture of spirits. I took a risk and bought a couple of bottles. Finally we were in.

Finally in Laos!

We dumped our bags at the hotel and received our first introduction into the Laos way of life...the cold shower. Then after a quick briefing from our new guide on the hotel balcony we went for a walk to watch the sunset.

It was incredible and a complete contrast to Thailand. Amazingly the gloomy weather in Chiang Khong had been replaced by warm afternoon sun and the pace of life had slowed right down. It was really bizarre. Thailand felt rushed, busy compared to this. It was so relaxed and there was no noise apart from the sound of playing children, the odd barking of a dog and the occasional passing tractor or 4 wheel drive. It was everything I had hoped for and I'd only been on the street for 5 minutes.

We did what any newcomer to any town should do. Find a local public house and sample the local beer.

We found a nice spot out the back next to the Mekong and sat back with some locals and enjoyed the view.

The sign advertising one of the worlds great beers that you can only find in Laos. Beerlao.

Mekong evening traffic

A 4WD crossing the border

After a beer and a short stroll we walked from the main street up to Wat Chom Khao Manilat, the main feature of the small village. It seemed like a good vantage point for watching the sunset and we were not disspointed.

The steps up to the Wat

The view back to Thailand

As the sun went down the oranges and colours of the wat glowed brightly, a perfect sunset on our first day in Laos.

And so ended our first day in Laos. Well almost. After a fantastic evening meal in a local restaurant the group retired but still buzzing from my first day here I went out hunting for some other visitors to share a drink or two. I eventually found a couple of German guys who were perfect drinking partners. They were due to leave in the morning as I was but rather than take the 2 day slow boat to the next stop on the trip they were short of time and were forced into booking a local speed boat that would take only 6 hours. Despite it sounding like fun, they were not looking forward to it. I'm sure I would see them speed past in the morning. Until then a few glasses of rum and coke helped to bring the mind around to the idea of sleeping.

We arrived in the morning so had the whole day to squeeze in an activity before an evening of Thai boxing. The weather was rubbish so I spent the morning in the coffee houses and internet cafes of the city. The afternoon I had opted for a Thai cookery lesson which involved a trip to the local market.

Fruit, Veg and more

Our guide and teacher gave us a tour of the market before giving us all a basket and instructions to find our ingredients for the day.

Our guide and the main staple of the locals

Seeing all of the amazing produce on offer was great. As usual in these local market situations, the meat buying had to be done with a hint of optimism and fingers crossed. The local preparation methods were pretty basic and you were never quite sure how long it had been sat there..

Not quite the cellophane wrapped cleanliness of the local supermarket

The puchase - Otherwise known as the optimisim bit

The fish counter

After getting the fresh ingredients we walked through the cooked food and sweet sections where an assortment of colours and smells awaited us.

Spot the empty plate. they were nice.

We sampled some of the great food on offer then jumped in the van with our ingredients to the cookery school a few minutes out of town.

Our guide ready for action

Armed and dangerous!

Pad Thai on the go

Coconut sticky rice desert

After amazing ourselves with our own creations we returned to the hotel to prepare for an evening of traditional Muay Thai boxing. Having been to the boxing in Bangkok last Christmas I was interested to see what the experience would be like in a smaller and more of a local arena. We arrived via a couple of very dark and narrow alleyways to a dimly lit entrance to the familiar sound of the traditional in-house band.

mmm, this was going to be interesting

Inside the panel of judges including a random Dutch man were updating matters via the muffled PA system. Unsurprisingly the crowd was alot smaller than the Bangkok crowds but still there was plenty of noise to create an atmosphere. We bought our beers and settled in to the early competitions.

The judges panel with the Dutch guy on the mic

Pre-match prayers

The speed of the fighters was incredicle and hard to pick up with the camera. Each kick was a blurred sprawl of limbs.

My knowledge of the sport was limited and I seemed to call every result the opposite way to the final decision. The headline fight was to be a match between a local fighter and a Canadian guy. I'm not too sure how he found himself here but it was a strange twist to the evening and got the crowd going who were 75% local and 25% tourists.

After a pretty full day it was hard to think we'd just arrived that morning. Soon enough however we were going to be off again. Our stay in Chiang Mai was at least a day too short but I was excited as we got closer to Laos.