Breakfast at 7am overlooking the Mekong then taxi truck transport to the Thai / Laos border
Moved into Laos quite smoothly then little taxi trucks to the boat landing
Had to walk the plank to get on the boat with Josh and I hanging onto each other, the temporary bamboo pole and the helpers for dear life
Great boat which holds up to 50 all to ourselves as a group of 10 and quite comfortable seating and open sides so good views and air flow
Fabulous lunch of home cooked Lao food on the boat which is a family (husband and wife) team and Lao beer
Down came the rain so down came the blinds on the side - hot as hell now so blinds back up ASAP
Stopped to visit a hill tribe village which was very interesting
Fantastic "jungle" scenery from the boat almost down to the river banks which are an interesting mix of slate type rock and sand
Water buffalo on the banks and lots of net fisherman
On arrival in Pak Beng about 15 young kids descended onto the boat and grabbed all the luggage to be porters at 10000kip per bag (A$1) - uphill walk to guesthouse which this time is pretty basic with fan (no a/c), the toilet in the shower to save space etc, power turned on when we arrived but it was clean and had free wifi!
Very interesting village and street market walk then dinner - wanted water buffalo but not available since none at market today
Pretty average night sleep ahead me thinks
Another full day on the boat tomorrow to get to Luang Prabang