Day 114 Riverside Relaxation 29 May 2012

Today we slept in until 11am – which was great! After a late lunch, some tv and some work on the blog we had dinner at a riverside tent. The view was beautiful.

Day 113 Slow Boat Travel Day 2 28 May 2012

A 10 hour slow boat ride. Again ample seating. And magnificent scenery.

 

 

 But we could do with less hours of it. In the end we arrived in Houi Xay at the border with Thailand.

Day 112 Slow Boat Travel Day 1 27 May 2012

Today we boarded the slow boat at 8am to Pak Beng and we arrived at 6pm - there was no stop for lunch and there was a bathroom on board.

It was a very long day but it was spacious enough to walk around, we had comfortable seats (two seats each - on long travel days we try to get as many seats possible to be able to stretch out- unlike the other couples who are always sitting together – amateurs!), and the mighty Mekong river scenery was striking.

When we arrived we stayed in a guesthouse with the coolest sheets to date! Deep down inside we are 8 year old boys- even Ana!

Day 111 Waterfalls 26 May 2012

After a breakfast at Joma Café - coffee and bagels (can you ask for anything more?) we hired a private tuk-tuk and headed out to Tat Kuang Si Waterfall (one waterfall but many tiered).

There was an Asian Black Bear Conservation Enclosure - and we watched them for a while.

We walked to the first waterfall cascade and were enchanted! The water was a beautiful turquoise and there were only a handful of tourists walking around. We went swimming in the cold refreshing water - just the two of us. What a treat!

Later, after an American showed us the way, we were brave enough to conquer the Rope Jump – something neither one of us had ever done! We were proud of ourselves- yes for all our adventurousness we are chickens to the bone!

 

Back in Luang Prabang and after securing a reservation at Tamarind’s for their signature lemongrass chicken dish we went for a very relaxing body massage. At the massage Martijn’s masseuse got the giggles and this made Ana’s masseuse get the giggles, which in turn made us get the giggles! We were all giggles – for a very long time! The exact origins of the giggles remains a mystery!

Day 110 Return to Luang Prabang 25 May 2012

Today we felt like we were going home – we were headed back to the charming and familiar Luang Prabang. This made the 6 hour bus ride really relaxing (except for the bathroom breaks) as we already knew where we were going, how to get around and where to eat- all the important factors!

We checked into our guesthouse where they welcomed us with open arms and went for a quick and reliable dinner at our favorite – Joma Café! Then, reveling on the easiness of the day we went to sleep in our air-conditioned room without a care in the world.

Day 109 We’re Old 24 May 2012

After a late lunch we walked 3mi/5km to the Jang Cave. We got there at 4pm and as we stepped up to the ticket office the guy was leaving for the day and saying to come back tomorrow. Even though officially it closes at 4:30pm.

We were a little disappointed but the scenery more than made up for it.

We could have swam at the mouth of the cave but decided not to after seeing the water.

On the way back we had a banana chocolate pancake from this little street cart. Delicious!

At dinner, around 8pm (later than usual), we encountered a bunch of drunk, annoying, loud youths. Typical for this party destination village. They made sure we couldn’t hear the Friends episode we were looking forward to watching during dinner. They also made us feel old. More so than watching Friends - who used to be older than us. On our way back to the hotel, we felt young again when we were asked if we wanted to go to a bar and have a whisky bucket, but true to ourselves we said no.

At least our guesthouse is made for old people like us. Not only are visitors, drugs and noise not allowed but sexual intercourse is prohibited too! 

Day 108 Tubing and Kayaking May 23 2012

Today we took a day long excursion. The first activity was tubing in a Tham Nam cave. In our inflatable tractor tire we held on to a fixed rope and pulled ourselves along deep inside the cave. It was beautiful, somewhat dangerous, and a lot of fun! 

After a lunch in which everyone thought the food was too spicy but we found it just perfect we walked by the Tham Sang Cave. This cave had a Buddha statue and footprint.

We then kayaked back to Vang Vieng on the Nam Song River stopping at one of the many riverside bars.

While the others were drinking the afternoon away, Martijn and Ana were enthralled by the butterflies. Ana may or may not have taken 100 pictures of the butterflies.

One butterfly even landed on Martijn’s sandal and was taking a nice long drink- it must have stayed there for 10min.

The last part of the kayaking was in monsoon rain and we could not get any wetter. We ended the day with dinner in a Friends restaurant- where they show constant rerun episodes of Friends.

We ended our day with a Happy 73^rd Birthday call to Martijn’s mom.

Day 107 Travel Day to Vang Vieng 22 May 2012

Today we took a bus to Vang Vieng or how we mistakenly keep saying Vieng Vang. It was an easy bus ride of 4 hours, we found our guest house, settled in and headed out for a late lunch/early dinner.

Note: Ana's foot is feeling better.

Day 106 Always take the elevator 21 May 2012

Today Ana claimed the day. She twisted her ankle going downstairs for breakfast reminding her that when there is an elevator – use it. Slight swelling and some pain didn’t stop us from heading out for food- yes all we do is eat- when you have to go out every day for every meal it becomes a big deal.

Martijn was wonderful tending to Ana’s foot- he got her ice (twice) – a great feat in a country that does not really use ice, he bought her a bandage from the local pharmacy using “wrapping” sign language and he let her rest with a chick flick (movie) – Maid in Manhattan.

This was also the day where while we were resting there was a very loud thunder clap that sounded like a canon on our balcony was fired. Martijn jumped off his seat and Ana reacted like she always does, with wide eyes and panic in her scream. 

Our hotel displayed the following. Tomorrow we will find out whether Martijn has grown back his hair.

Day 105 Vientiane Sightseeing 20 May 2012

The day started out at Joma cafe (are you noticing a pattern?) for brunch, after which we intended to go bicycling around town. After the meal we decided to walk instead, only visiting the two major sites, the temple Wat Si Saket

and the Lao version of the Arc de Triomphe. 

On our way back we played two games of bowling and Ana was so nice to let Martijn win for a change. Bowling was not very easy since the floor was very slippery, making balancing quite hard when releasing the ball, at least that was Ana’s excuse.

Tonight we actually went to two places for dinner. The first was a Japanese Lao fusion restaurant that was boring, served extra small portions and was over-priced. We felt like we only had an appetizer so we went back to last night’s place and shared a main course of tasty local food.