Day 19 - Mekong River, Houay Xay to Pak Beng, Laos

Very excited about our river cruise today. We have to wait for about an hour for our guide Si to pick us up and take us to the boat. He pulls up in an already full van. Another time where we didn't think we were going to get our luggage in but we somehow do.

Our very nice Shompoo cruise boat. We opted for the more comfortable option vs the "bum breaker" one where the pack a hundred people in and you have to sit on wooden benches. 

No sludge to wade through this time. Our very own ramp!!

And we are off. It's pretty chilly first thing. Even I had to put a cardigan on!

The scenery is awe inspiring and only gets better the further down river we go. We are traveling down river for eight hours and we are mesmerised. Didn't pick up a book once. It's like a combination of Halong Bay and Yosemite all rolled into one. The river winds its way through the mountains chiseling its route throughout the mountain forests. For eight hours we see only the river, mountains, water buffalo and little mountain tribe villages. We are literally in the middle of nowhere. 

Today we sail down river half way to a place called Pak Beng enroute Luang Prabang which is our final stop tomorrow night. 

It starts off relatively flat. 

We stop off to pick up food from the middle of nowhere and have a delicious lunch. Everywhere we go the food is amazing. We sit next to an old couple from Singapore who were great. We get really good friends with Swan in particular and are going to meet up with her in Singapore. She is great. Such an interesting person. She loves me as she says I remind her of her nephew who turns out to work for KPMG in London!

About half way we stop to visit one of the hill tribes. This was a highlight, so interesting to see how they live. Sometimes these places can be a bit spoilt by tourist visits but this was completely genuine. 

The kids were adorable. 

Cockerels everywhere though. It's like a cornflakes commercial

We then visit the school. Again the kids melt our hearts. Our tour has arranged to give them books and pens for the school which is great. We also make a donation. It costs them $5 dollars a year to attend school here. 

Why is it that no matter how poor people are they can always afford sky?

Back to our boat for a further three hours to Pak Beng. 

It starts to turn really scenic now as the mountains grow even higher out of the water. 

Our tour guide Si. He is keeping me well hydrated with BeerLao. :-)

Water buffalo. 

As the sun starts to set it gets more and more beautiful (if that is even possible).

Listening to Dire Straits Ride Across the River. Classic tunes for a Mekong trip. 

We arrive at our hotel at about 5.30pm just before sunset, not quite knowing what to expect. We think it will be similar to last night as this place is in the middle of nowhere. How wrong we are. 

Looks good as we dock. Ours is the top one. 

A walk up the hill carrying a suitcase on my shoulder nearly killed me but then we arrive at paradise. I don't have enough superlatives to describe this place. We have been very fortunate enough to stay in some amazing places across the world but this is hands down number one. Nat actually cried when she arrived to the phenomenal sunset on the terrace it was so moving. 

The setting for dinner tonight looks incredible. I am sure my iPhone pics won't be doing it justice. 

Contemplating Nat. 

Chilling on the balcony. 

Gorgeous room. 

We are on cloud nine. Was not expecting this. Once again well worth the upgrade to the deluxe package!! 

Dinner was fantastic. A traditional Laos feast of chicken curry, pork and bean shoots and curried cauliflower and  broccoli. Awesome place for dinner under the stars. 

I'm not so good at cards tonight. 

After dinner and a nice bottle of rouge we head to be bottom of the garden to star gaze. We have found a hell of an app (star chart) that you hold up to the sky and it tells you what you are looking at. It's ridiculous. So cool. You can even point it to the earth and it shows you exactly where the sun is. Technology never ceases to amaze. 

This day is going to take some beating!!!