I slept awesome last night. The bed was comfortable, the comforter was sooo warm. We hd to get up early, 6:30, we are supposed to be at the boat at 7:30. We had some tea downstairs, picked up the sandwiches we had ordered the day before for the boat ride, then headed down to the boat. Found out that the first boat that took half the passengers yesterday mysteriously disappeared overnight, now all the passengers were going to be on one boat. AFter many complaints from passengers, they finally convinced them to get on the boat, and we left about 8:45AM. Pretty much the same drill as yesterday, except we're packed on the boat, it's a lot more cramped, and the novelty and excitement of the trip we had yesterday has worn of totally. In retrospect, we should have taken a slow boat to Pakbeng, then a fast boat from Pakbeng to Louang Phabang today. It was a long boat ride, the scenery pretty much the same.
Got to Louang Phabang about 4:45. Court and I hopped off the boat and started walking to our chosen guest house, Wat That. We checked out a couple of other places along the way, they were all full, then when we got to Wat That, it wasn't there. It had burned down. We walked to the next street, and found the Vanvisa guest house, they had a double room with a private bath (and hot water, a requirement!) for $10US (450 baht), so I took it. Luxury tonight!!! This is an old French villa, built and owned by a university professor in the 1960's. Our room is a nice size, but exquisite, with nice brick walls, hardwood floor, and a very nice bathroom. They even include, not one, but *TWO* rolls of toilet paper! But, alas, $10US is a lot of money, so we'll stay here tonight then find something cheaper ($1-$3US) tomorrow.
We had a lot of laundry to do, so we took that in.
A little history about Louang Phabang. Laos was at one time a French colony, and Louang Phabang was also teh Royal capital of Laos, so there is a lot of French incluence in Louang Phabang, in their food and their architecture. Louang Phabang is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has strict building codes.
The restaurant we ate at actually had *REAL* napkins! Oooooohh!!! Mom, you can pass that along to Aunt Dot!
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