Laos and Forever

Luang Prabang seems to be a place for the more discerning tourist, what with its hot water and its toilet paper- how very la-di-da? Then it threw me a curveball by providing the most ridiculous leg of my journey so far.

I had met people that had taken the slow boat along the Mekong between the Thai border and Luang Prabang, they'd really enjoyed it. By that reasoning I figured that the fast boat option would be really fun. It wasn't. The incredible scenery got old quite quickly and, I know this might undermine my backpacker kudos, I really was expecting a seat (ooooh, look at Pete with his fancy Western ways, expecting a seat for an eight hour journey), all I got was an 800 x 600 x 200mm box which I had to share with a Japanese software designer. Now I know that I shouldn't be all uppity because taking a speedboat through the jungle is probably more glamorous than what you did with your Tuesday; it definitely sounds cooler than getting a lift to Glasgow in the boot of an E-reg panda but, in terms of comfort levels, I know which one I'd choose in the future.

In other news, spent my last full day in Laos exploiting my post-tubing immortality by tombstoning waterfalls, as one does when they're in a city famous for its temples.