13 - 14TH DECEMBER

I wasn’t really to sure what to expect from our slow boat journey other than it would be slow!!! It was going to take us 2 days to get to the Thai border and that involved two 8 hour journeys on a wooden boat!!! We arrived at the boat stop about 20 minutes early and spotted our vessel. Believe me when I say it wasn’t a luxury liner!!! It was floating which was the main thing but luxury was not a word that could be associated with this boat and the seats, well think of a right angle, then think of a plank seat made into a right angle shape and that is what we had to park our bums on for the next 8 hours!!!

We got going on Laos time, which is whenever they’re ready or feel like it. To be honest it was faster than I thought it would be, but was finding it rather difficult to find out the most comfy spot on my wooden seat with cushion!!! Also the weather was

rather cloudy and it was freezing so after a quick trip to my rucksack to dig out my windstopper jacket and a pair of socks I was ready and now fully prepared for the next 8 hours!!! Thankfully we had both got a new book each so after a few hours of watching a very beautiful world go by it was time to forget about the numb bum and get stuck into my new book. I’m not normally one for marathon book reading sessions but this book The Honey Trap had me hooked. Whilst it was a brilliant way to travel, after about 5 hours it did start getting a bit too much, and I would have welcomed a break. But the fact was there was absolutely no civilization as far as the eye could see! So I guess there wasn’t a lot else you could do other than sit there and wonder what Pakbeng had in store for us. The guide book wasn’t exactly complimentary about the place and neither were some stories we’d heard from fellow travellers so it was pot luck as to how nice the place was going to be! Apparently they had a bad rat problem so