Ban Phasak

Kayak Trip 2

I barely slept because of the thunderstorm in the night, the chickens at sunrise, and some mystery machine that made a whole lotta noise. Despite that I was feeling better and was ready for the day. Before breakfast, we end up playing football with some of the village kids for a while, and when it was time for breakfast I ended up giving them all a bunch of high fives which was really really cute.

For breakfast we had some sticky rice and some other stuff but honestly I can't remember, but I had a sachet of light roast coffee which I'm sure had lots of creamer in, and honestly I think I've found the kind of coffee that I like. It's one of the few coffees I've ever had where I really enjoyed it and wanted more. I'm sure it also helped with the lack of good sleep too. We packed our things and said thankyou to our host then went to go paddling again. A bunch of the village kids had come to the bank to wave us goodbye and we were off.

Today was a lot better than yesterday, I wasn't in as much pain which meant Michelle and I were able to get in sync much easier. Kasper ended up paddling super far ahead of us which meant we missed our planned lunch stop but that was fine because it had only been an hour or 2 since we had breakfast. When we caught up to Kasper we all ended up having a little lie down in our kayaks for a little bit as we were well ahead of schedule. It was really nice laying down with a life vest as a pillow and feet in the water, gently floating down the river. Unfortunately we didn't float very far but it was very relaxing nonetheless.

We ended up getting sight of the dam that marked the end of our suffering / journey and as we approached the currents definitely picked up a bit, helping us along which meant we could float for a bit until we landed on the bank. When we had pulled our kayaks onto land and got them out of the way of the boat behind us uploading timber, we perched a seat on the logs and had a nice lunch of glass noodles wrapped in banana leaves. After a strangely comfortable lie down on the logs, it turns out we had boarded the wrong bank and had to get everything back onto the kayaks and paddle a little bit further towards the kayak to where the minibus was waiting for us. We had to haul our kayaks up from the water up a concrete ramp, up a small dirt verge then heave the kayaks up and onto the roof so they could be strapped down. The 2 person kayak especially was super heavy and didn't have a wheel to help go up the ramp and I somehow ended up carrying most the kayaks which was more work than the kayaking today.

We hopped into our local bus and went towards Luang Prabang. Because I was helping strap the kayaks down, I was last in the bus which meant I was lucky enough to sit more towards the front and have a bit of AC and a window next to me which was more than the people behind me. After a while towards Luang Prabang, we pulled over and got the kayaks off the roof and dumped them on the side of the road to be picked up later and taken back to Nong Khiaw. Worse than getting the kayaks up was taking them down as there's a sudden moment where the weight suddenly drops down on you. Having built up a sweat, I grabbed some water and some snacks from the shop nearby and we kept going to Luang Prabang.

When we arrived there was a bit of confusion with the directions as Google Maps directed us across a motorbike only bridge which our driver knew about but refused to look at my map and only wanted me to point forward or left which is why I ended up choosing wrong. He presumably started cursing me out in Lao so I handed my phone to the dude next to me so he could talk to the driver instead of me. We arrived and we got our bags down from the roof and said goodbye and thankyou to David before Michelle and I went to check in at our hostel.

We chilled for a bit and showered before deciding to go for a walk to explore Luang Prabang. Michelle had already been before but I hadn't so we did a little loop of the main touristy bit so I could get a feel of the place. It was a nice little city with a night market and all kind of centrered around a temple on the hill called Phousi Hill (but hilariously pronounced with a P not a Ph sound). I was pretty sore so had decided I wanted a massage and they were super cheap so I couldn't resist. We found a cheap looking place and I went in. I went for a head, neck, shoulder, and back massage although a lot of the choices looked quite good. After my painful experience with a Thai massage I was a bit fearful of a Lao massage and decided against it. After cleaning my feet, my masseuse took me upstairs to the mats on the floor and I laid down and she started on my back and neck, as well a bit of my legs too. Then, she had my lie on her lap on a pillow and she massaged my head. This was the nicest and most relaxing feeling I had ever felt I almost fell asleep 3 times. At the end, she did this weird thing and cracked my back in the most satisfying way I've ever felt. And just like that, the most relaxing hour of my life was finished. I decided to tip her the price of the massage, that's how good it felt.

Right after, I enjoyed some tea then headed out and met up with Michelle, Kasper, Rasmus, and Robert (the Scottish dude from Nong Khiaw) for some dinner at Kasper and Rasmus' favourite restaurant. They raved about a specific set of dishes that was the best thing ever so I blindly trusted them and let them order me some food. I ended up getting a pork laab salad, steamed rice, a Lao sausage (with a really weird jelly), and a mixed fruit shake. Honestly, it was okay but I'm not much of a salad guy and when mixing it with the rice it felt like it was missing a sauce. Still, it was really nice still. We had some beer with dinner and we decided that we would be going to the bowling alley as that was the 1 thing in Luang Prabang that a few of us hadn't done and wanted to do.

The bowling alley was quite well known in Luang Prabang as it was open till 2am and was where everyone headed after everywhere shut around 10 or 11 if they wanted to keep the night going. Plus, it's bowling and who doesn't like bowling. 4 of us (minus Kasper as he was feeling a bit ill and tired) found a tuktuk driver (much different to the tuktuk in Cambodia) and got a lift over and it was a bit out of town. We grabbed a beer and played our first game. Around frame 7 Robert said that loser buys shots which I was not aware of and I am famously terrible at bowling. I was the last up and on the final bowl of my 10th frame I only had to knock down 1 more pin to tie with Michelle. Feeling the pressure, I lined up and bowled the most beautiful strike that has ever been bowled. Just kidding, I threw it straight into the gutter and turned and went straight to the bar and ordered 4 Lao Whisky as they were the cheapest shot on the menu. What I didn't know is Lao Whisky is basically happy water and made me feel incredibly ill as my stomach was still having flash backs to the Ha Giang Loop.

What's awesome about Laos is I could order a pot noodle in the bowling alley for super cheap and have an awesome snack to have alongside my beer whilst playing bowling. Plus, it helped alot chasing the horrible Lao Whisky. For our 2nd game, now knowing that loser had to buy shots I decided to try and step up my game, unfortunately that meant do even worse than my first try and watch everyone do better. The only chance I had of not losing is if I scored 3 strikes in a row at the end. Feeling the pressure, I lined up and bowled the most beautiful strike that has ever been bowled. And this time I'm not lying I actually got a strike. When it came time for my 2nd and 3rd strike things collapsed a little bit and I went to buy my 2nd round. I ended up getting a cider and 3 shots of tequila as my stomach didn't want any more spirits. With that, alot of people started pouring in and filling up the alleys so we donated our lane to another group and sat around a table chatting.

Eventually, Rasmus and I felt like heading outside for the post bowling event of archery. Because what's better than giving a bunch of drunk people a bow and arrow and very little supervision. Luckily I wasn't drunk but Rasmus and I lined up and scored a terrible round of archery, with only 4 of my 5 arrows hitting the board and, 3 of them being in the outer ring. Rasmus gained a sudden burst of energy and wanted to jump in with a group of people heading to the club but in the time that we went to grab Michelle and Robert, the tuktuk has gone and Rasmus wanted to head home to bed. We left Michelle and Robert to enjoy their night going clubbing whilst we went back to our hostels and went to sleep.Okumaya devam et