We took the minibus up to Chiang Kong on the border between Thailand and Laos for one night. There was not much to do there as it was basically one long street. It was pretty cold and quiet so after some dinner and a film we head off for bed. We did meet some other Scottish travellers which were the first ones in months so that was pretty strange.

The next morning we were up early to go to cross the border into Laos. Once across the border we boarded a slow boat to take us to Louang prabang. This journey was to last the next 2days! - It really was a slow boat! As soon as we boarded our boat we made two new friends, Erin and Mike. The next day proved rather long, we filled it with numerous games of UNO and cards and thankfully we had Lauren's DVD player. The scenery along the Mekong was beautiful but after an hour or so it was all the same.

Eventually we reached Pakbeng where we were to be staying for the night. We sent Mike off to find us some accommodation for the night while we waited for the bags to be unloaded and heaved them up the hill. Pakbeng really was not a big place at all. Once agin it was a long dirt road with a few guesthouses and restaurants of to the side. We got ourselves a room and headed out for our first Laos dining experience. It was a good meal even if we did have to wait a long time for anything to arrive. Seeing as there was not much to do we headed off to bed. We had also till only 10.30pm with electicity so planned to be in bed before the lights out. We almost made it!

The next morning we were still without electricity so we were fumbling around in the dark trying to repack. We planned to be on the boat early so that we could get a good seat. We scrambled down the hill and moved from boat to boat trying to find the right one. For a boat that left every morning from this place no one seemed to know which one it was or what time it should leave at! Eventually we set off. It was a very long day. We managed to make some more friends and played numerous large games of UNO. I was sat on that boat from 7.30 in the morning till about 6 at night till we eventually arrived in Luang Prabang. I've never been so thankful to get of a boat. I had such a sore bum from sitting on the wooden bench all day and was still rocking back and forth till late that night!