I decided to have breakfast on my balcony today to get away from the (Western) music they play in the open restaurant downstairs! Whatever it is, it's just not to my taste first thing. But the balcony option was very nice if not a great way to meet people.
For an outing, I thought I'd get the ferry across the Mekong and explore the other side. Easier said than done. At the pier, which has the label 'cross river ferry' on some maps, all I could find was a few rogues trying to sell me a private boat hire for goodness knows how much. In the end, I gave the idea up for the day, as there was no obvious sign of the ferry in the half hour I hung around. However, I did take an interesting picture of the gauge that shows the extent of possible flooding of the river. It must be amazing. I also met a man from California who was taking the boat back to his village. He almost sold me on coming too but the boat back would not be until the next day. Maybe one for next year.
So I took a look at the palace opposite the pier which is now a national museum, took a few photos of a comfortingly scruffy street and went round to the bamboo bridge over the Nam Khan.
This bridge is apparently washed away each year in the monsoon and rebuilt. Crossing over, I walked along a moderately busy road, eventually reaching Wat Phoi Phao. This looks quite a modern Wat and is striking for the fact that one can climb up through its storeys to the top. This affords good views, including back across to Phosi.
As I arrived a great convoy of Chinese tourists pitched up. Fortunately, I will only alienate half the world's population when I say the tours of Chinese seniors are the new Americans. Of course, there are the chic and sophisticated twenty-somethings from Shanghai but their parents seem to descend in droves, with little accommodation to where they are and it's best to wait for their (rapid) visit to end before having a look oneself.
Having done my thing at the Wat, I thought I'd take a Tuk Tuk back. I'd seen one when I arrived.I asked the guy how much it would be back to Luang Prabang. He could not disguise the sensation that Christmas had come earl.y. 50,000. I said that 's way too much; so he asked what I would pay. 20,000. 30,000 he replied. I said 25; he said 30; I said never mind i'll walk; he said OK 20. One or the other of us had lost the thread! So off we set at great speed with screeching breaks - it turned out he was trying to fit me in before chasing back to the Wat to collect some punters he was touring with.
That evening, I headed down for a big beer at the same place i'd been the night before by the riverside. It is a lovely environment but there was only one other customer. It's hard to imagine that business plan stacking up. I then headed off to find somewhere to eat and at last found somewhere that, while pitched at the tourist market, was not offering the best pizzas in town,
In the morning a boat of monks made its way up river with a rhythmic calling out. all this observed by the nonchalent captive eagle that seems to belong to one of the hoteliers relatives.
