LAOS - Luang Prabang - Part 1

We all woke up together the next day early so we would have time to get breakfast and get more alcohol and catch our boat. I had a little bit of a rough night since Annemiek woke me up paranoid about bed bugs. I had the luxury of having my own bed while she shared one with Anaise. She shook me until I woke around 3 am and asked me to check her for bugs. After I told her to go back to sleep she eventually did... outside on the porch... Well, I was the first to wake up of the group around 6:30 am and went outside to do my morning yoga and stretching, but I was stopped when I saw Annemiek laying on the ground with a sheet over her.  I gently shook her to ask what the hell she was doing there. She simply and casually replied that she was paranoid that she was being eaten alive by bed bugs. I told her politely to go in the room and try and clean things up in her bag and to double check for bugs. She got all her stuff and went inside while I laid out my mat and started my yoga. I was trying to recover from the restless night I had. I stood up and looked over the balcony to the street below. The villagers were receiving loads of vegetables and fruit from anonymous trucks and setting up for a new day. As time passed, 2 monks, one older and one younger, wandered down the road in their rust-colored robes with there metal bowls peeking through the creases. Not many in the village had offerings for them, but one woman, in particular, was on her knees contently waiting for them to receive her offerings. It was a beautiful thing to see in this little unknown town. Not all traveling has to be confined to popular areas. Culture thrives in the odds and ends of the country as well. I went back into the room only to find it in utter chaos. Anaise was struggling to find $500 worth of cash she had pulled out the other day and Annemiek was covered in welts from being infested with bed bugs. I quickly avoided it all and packed my bags to get out. After finding out that Annaise lost her money, I had to try and get some since I still couldn't get any out of the ATM's here in Laos. So I walked up the road to find a tiny, small, probably broken ATM to give a try. And to my surprise, IT WORKED!  I got as much as possible out to ensure I would have some for a few days in case the same situation arose. I crossed the road to go to the store in order to buy some fruit and snacks for the next leg of the boat ride. I still was unsure of the exchange rate between Baht and Kip so I may have gotten ripped off, but oh well I will eventually get the hang of it. Walking back to the hotel I saw a cage of baby chicks on the side of the road which was super cute. A little girl was feeding or trying too, strawberries. When I got back to the hotel I was greeted by Anaise smoking a cigarette gossiping to Jordan and Mirtha about Annamieks crazy night. Anaise was not about the bed bugs... We were all almost packed up and decided to have breakfast with our hotel downstairs. I brought my bags down there with the girls, because the boys were still sleeping. We sat down at the table that was sort of hanging out into the street and the little girl that ordered our dinner last night came up to us and gave us breakfast menus. I got 2 eggs fried with a baguette and so did the others. Mirthe got a papaya smoothie but what she got was a rotten cup of shit. You never know what to expect. After the girls finished eating the boys finally joined us and we're feeling a tad bit hungover. They got chocolate pancakes for breakfast. After we all finished and paid the bill, we walked over to the store once more to buy even more alcohol for the boat ride today. We were all writing down how much each of us owed each other since we were relying on a few people that had actual cash. It was starting to get complicated but I paid my debts in the morning with my fresh cash. People still owed me but we decided to figure it out on the boat ride today. The truck was coming to the hotel to pick us up soon to take us to the dock, and while we waited I tried to find my boat ticket.... which I misplaced. I wasn't too concerned since I figured they didn't really check our tickets on the first ride so why would they this time? I was wrong. We were approaching the boat after we got dropped off and I saw they were collecting tickets once you were onboard. I was searching frantically because I had no ticket. I was almost positive that I had thrown it out, but I usually keep important documents! The boat captain came to our group while I was still searching and he was checking everyone else's. The moment he got to me I found it, tucked away in my bag pocket. My heart was on fire I was so scared because they would surely leave without me. Everyone in our group was like, that was close. We were all a little bit bummed at the boat since it was different than the other day and had no tables that we could sit around. It only had seats that faced each other so it was a little awkward because we couldn't play cards, but we eventually found a way. Everyone was tired from drinking the day before, so we weren't the crazy wild group everyone was annoyed at again. We saw a few of the same people from the first day, one big guy from Whales came over to share his very strong chew (tobacco) with one of the boys, Jake, in our group. About 45 minutes after chewing some of it, he started feeling very light headed and dizzy. He had also been drinking but not that much. The guy from Whales finally came back and he asked him about it. The guy told him that you only are supposed to chew it for 10 minutes and then spit it out because it is so strong. We all laughed at him after he had realized what Jake had done. Around 12 we busted out the bottles of vodka, rum, and beer we had scavenged in the small town last night. It was early for me to start drinking but I had a cold one just to not feel left out, and mostly because they all told me that not drinking wasn't an option. We played card games and silly kids games like "never have I ever". Soon a quiet guy from Alaska joined our party. He was very quiet but very handsome, and I could tell Jordan had a crush on him. He played a few rounds of games with us and he all shared our life stories. I read my book occasionally because the drinking started to die down. We were getting closer to Luang Prabang, our final stop. Looking up we could see elephants hauling logs of trees in the forest by the river. The poor creatures were tied up in chains working as slaves. The boat was approaching a dock up ahead and we were arriving early to our destination. After the boat stopped we all got off in a hurry and climbed up these gigantic stairs to the top of the river bed to be turned into a small building were a man at a desk awaited to see our visas and tickets. After the whole group got through the booth we waited outside where all the tuk-tuks were waiting to grab the tourists. We were all separated into different tuk-tuks and some of the boys got angry at this but forgave as soon as we all agreed to go to the same hostel. I didn't plan on staying at the same hostel at first with them because I thought it was our time to part ways.  But we all went to the hostel, Sabai Sabai. It was worked for me since I wanted to travel alone but they all insisted we stick together. It was more expensive but my trip was coming to an end so I splurged and decided to go with the flow different from other ways of traveling. I was hoping to meet Domien in the next few days too. The tuk-tuk ride was kind of long and the entire ride seemed to be very dusty and hazy. It was as beautiful as I thought it was going to be. But I would wait later to judge this new country until I saw more. When we got to the hotel, it was on the outskirts of the town. We all piled out of the back of the tuk-tuk and grabbed our bags from the roof. We walked through the hotel's gates and sat on the picnic tables as we all signed in to get our rooms. I was a little bummed when everyone but me and Anamiek got placed in the same room. So I had to stay with the bed bug girl as everyone else roomed together. Oh well, at least I had some relaxation time from the party goers. The rooms were very nice and clean and the bed was comfortable. There was also a pool above that we all planned on jumping in after we got settled because it was so damn hot. I got dressed in my bathing suit and went up. The bathrooms at this place were by far the best I've ever been in! Probably top 5 best bathrooms ever. It was all cement and modern looking with an open side that overlooked the entire city of Luang Prabang. The sun was almost set at this time and there was a slight haze over it. I jumped in the pool and it was frigidly cold. But I dunked my head and then sat out for a little next to everyone. We met some new people and they were mostly from the US. One of them was a guy from North Carolina and he was very full of himself... After relaxing a bit we all got hungry and decided to walk to the night market in town to get some dinner. I walked with a group while some of the others took a taxi. The walk wasn't too far but I liked it because we were sitting all day on the boat. On the way, there were some interesting stores, like meat, fruits, and cakes? Up ahead we were approaching a string of hanging Christmas lights were the night market started. We got there and it was very crowded with a huge group of tourists. They seemed to be in one big group and inseparable. The first few vendors look very good and most of us grabbed the food there. I got spring rolls with some good peanut dipping sauce and others got fried noodles of some sort. We also all bought grilled chicken kebabs and shared them. We then walked further and found a secret small alley that was full of people and vendors. In there, the stalls were full of jerky, meats, and green eggs! Then we came across a buffet where you pay a set price and have unlimited access to a table of all sorts of food from salad to noodles to desserts to whatever you could think of. This made me regret my decision of getting the springs rolls... But I knew I would be in this town a while so I could come back any night in the future. After we all ate and looked around we walked through the night market to see any trinkets but honestly, it all seemed the same. Then I and Anamiek separated from the rest of the group to walk back to the hotel because we walked to go to sleep rather than go out to the bars. But the next day will be quiet eventful and fun!