A midday checkout from our guesthouse and we got a taxi to the local bus station. This was dodgy to say the least.... We stuck out like a sore thumb, and I soon regretted wearing short shorts with all the Thai men gawping at me!! 3 hours later and we arrived in the tiny little village of Chiang Khong, which is the border town for Laos - it literally consists of 1 street with a few shops, banks, a police station, some food stalls/restaurant and guesthouses on.

We were welcomed into a homestay by Malawan, a Thai lady, and Don, an American gentleman who had a few funny stories to tell about the local bobbies! One of which was that he'd pulled the roller shutter down at 11.30pm - not to keep the bad guys out, but the good guys instead! He had previously experienced 2 out of the 33 employed police who had kindly let themselves in and decided to take a few free beers as not much happens in Chiang Khong. Sounded like something out of SuperBad!! (They could probably do with getting rid of 32 of their policemen) Our accommodation consisted of a door, 2 mosquito netted windows, 2 mattresses inside what felt like a cardboard box and a cockroach who was very soon evicted as he outstayed his welcome... I don't think he looked too kindly to the bottom of my shoe haha!

However the rough night's sleep cucooned in our sleeping bags was made completely worthwhile by the beautiful sunrise over the Mekong the following morning. After passport control on the Thai side of the river, we took a speed boat - which is a long wooden boat with 8 planks strapped together for seats - over to Huay Xai, the border town of Laos. The next bit was rather interesting, as we had to get our visas on arrival, and put it this way... they have no system over here!! It seems like the first person to present their passport goes to the bottom of the pile. We then got a tuk tuk down to the port where our transportation for the next 2 days was waiting!