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Dec.9 We got up this morning & it was a cold morning - we slept with all our clothes on - minus the boots. Took the same rusty old jeep down to Hat Sa - only this time the driver let it roll in neutral gear most of the way - & the passengers rolled & tumbled around in the back - great fun! We entered a boat & started the trip down the river again. Shared the sunflower seeds & mandarins we brought along with the locals & they shared their sticky rice with us! When the sun came up life became a bit easy & we took off some of our layers of clothes. The Laotians spoke to us in Lao & we answered back in English - nobody understood a word - but we had a super good time! David tried some Laolao (homemade booze) it smelled terribly & made him sleepy right away. I gave the only other girl in the boat an arm ring from Egypt - (less to carry) She looked happy. Arrived in Muang Khua harbor at 02:15 & the boat to Luang Prabang had just left so we checked in at our little hotel again (went in the back way so we didn't have to register) I washed my "dread lock looking" hair in cold water & Chinese shampoo - at least it looked cleaner & we sad in the sun on the balcony & enjoyed life. I saw a prisoner with a big iron ball in a chain attached to his leg coming up the road next to the hotel. Ate noodle soup in a small restaurant - went home to sleep! Dec.10 At 08:00 we left Muang Khua again - it was a misty morning - we brought sticky rice - noodles with chili in banana leaves & bananas with us. There were other passengers in the boat too. A granddad or dad with his little girl - she'd fallen into a bamboo stick & hurt her eye terribly - they needed to see the hospital in Luang Prabang. The sun came up & the land around us was beautiful. We gave the little girl the bananas & shared the rest of the food with the rest of the boat - the granddad gave me some dried smoked meat & I ate it & survived (I so far had been a vegetarian for almost 2 month). The nature was fantastic & changed all the time - soft hills & tall steep mountains. At a point the river police stopped us & the boat owner had to pay a fee. Where Nam Ou & Nam Mekong ran into one another & the sun began to go down - the world stood still - it was a perfect moment (& I keep the image in my eye 'till the day I die) We arrived in Luang Prabang when the darkness came & all the lights were on this beautiful town. I left the cap in the boat for the guys there - we paid & ran up the stairway & took a tuktuk back to Vannida guesthouse - they had a huge room ready for us. Left the backpacks & ran back to town & found a good restaurant & ordered every veggie meal they had on the menu - the plates almost stood on to of one another. NEVER will I eat noodle soup again. |
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