Next time check for a sink

For those of you who don't know, the best way to get from Northern Thailand into Laos is by crossing the Mekong and then taking a two day slow boat to a wonderful Laotian city called Luang Prabang. We had heard horror stories about the hard wooden slats used as seats on the slow boats. However, after reviewing our options in terms of time and money, the slow boat was the best way to go.

We crossed the Mekong border from Chiang Khong on the Thai side to Huay Xia on the Lao side at about 8am and found our boat shortly after that. All in all, it wasn't as bad as everyone said. There were some small cushions and there was enough space to move around comfortably. We figure this has to do with travelling in low season - we each got a bench to ourselves for the entire journey. The scenery along the Mekong is absolutely fantastic and it's quite a wonderful feeling to cruise along reading a book with the wind in your hair. The boat is covered from rain and sun but open on the sides.

Halfway through the journey the boat stops for the night in a town called Pak Beng. Since we were tired and hungry on arrival we chose the first guest house that seemed reasonable. Big Mistake. The room cost about $4, which turned out to be $4 too much.

After dropping our stuff and heading out for dinner (a lovely Indian meal, it turned out), we returned for a shower. I reached for my toothbrush and went to brush my teeth only to discover that our dank bathroom lacked a sink. I went to check the shared bathroom facilities (we has splurged on the extra 50 cents for a private bathroom). Low and behold, no sink. There was actually no sink in the entire place!

Ok, no problem, we thought, just brush your teeth in the shower. Unfortunately, the shower would be better described as a drip than a shower. After cleaning ourselves to the fullest extent possible under the circumstances, we surveyed the bed and the creepy crawlies that inhabited the room with us. It was at this point that we decided to brandish our handy mosquito tent, generously provided by a couple of our friends as a very practical wedding gift. This way, we figured we'd be protected from anything flying or crawling around the room as well as from anything living in the matress. This would be our flealess bag inside a true fleabag.

We awoke the next morning to the now familiar sound of roosters. We couldn't get out fast enough and were among the first people on the boat and ready to go.

The remainder of the journey was beautiful and peaceful. We arrived in the wonderful city of Luang Prabang and decided to splurge on an upscale guest house. For a mere $20 we got a room that even our parents would have enjoyed. We also had an outstanding Lao meal for $13. Ahhhhh, all is right with the world.

More on Luang Prabang as we explore it further.