Next stop - Luang Prabang

29 Jan 2014

The airy, spacious sitting area at Bacoma guest house, where we have spent many a happy hour chatting with fellow guests, shooting pool or watching movies.

So after two happy months at the seaside in Kep, we said a fond farewell to all our new friends at the lovely Bacoma and set off on the 4-hour bus journey to Phnom Penh in order to be at the airport first thing in the morning for our flight via Bangkok to Luang Prabang.

We went for a walk through the mangroves on one of our last days at the coast.

The fishing fleet of Kep with Rabbit Island in the distance. We never made it to Rabbit Island in the end!.

I don't usually post pictures of my food but this was exceptional! Our last meal at Breezes in Kep included locally caught barracuda and stuffed squid. Delectable!

Trevann was a bit chilly in the cinema on our last night when we watched Dallas Buyers Club, so he wrapped himself in a rug!

Phnom Penh was a bit of a wake-up call after sleepy little Kep, where the dogs can safely snooze in the middle of the road. The traffic is manic – and it’s not a pedestrian-friendly city. We told the tuk-tuk drivers outside our guest house that we preferred to walk and they laughed. “Good luck!”, they called as we set off down the alleyway towards the road.

A snapshot of old Phnom Penh round the corner from our guesthouse.

Curiously, the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh is completely dominated by the vast new Naga World Casino just behind it.

I can see why – just crossing the road is a major adventure. No one has right of way in the constant stream of motorbikes, cars and trucks. Only the brave survive – and get to go where they want to go.

Nevertheless, undaunted, we reached the riverfront and had a stroll along the path there, watching the cargo boats chuffing past up the Tonle Sap river (which, remarkably, changes its direction of flow during the rainy season!). Also found a bar which served BeerLao and good food – about two-thirds the price of a meal in Kep too. Sixteen dollars for two mains, a massive Greek salad (with olives) and beers.

All the same I wasn’t sorry to be leaving PP the next day. I’m not really a city gal.

Our flight to Bangkok, 3 hours in the airport and then flight on to Luang Prabang all went smoothly. Trevann and I managed to digest both 3-course meals they forced on us – at 10.30 in the morning during a 50-minute flight and then again at 3 o’clock during a 90-minute flight! Personally I would rather be offered a small snack and pay a cheaper ticket price, but there you are.

It was wonderful to land back in Laos! The little airport has been rebuilt since we were here last Feb, but it still small and friendly. And here we are, back in our old bungalow in the hills. It feels more rustic this year and the road is more rutted and track-like than I remember, but that’s all just in contrast to what we’ve got used to in Kep.

Lovely Laos.

Our friends Khoun and Khone welcomed us warmly, along with Bo, O, Mena and Leanne. The three dogs are fatter and there are many more kittens but in other ways it is all unchanged. Perhaps a few more trees have been felled on the hills opposite, more undergrowth has been cleared along the road, and a few new houses built but nothing too drastic yet.

The main contrast with Cambodia is the silence! No dogs howling, no tweeting birds greeting the dawn, no distant fishing boat engines, no clattering cleaners etc. I slept like a log and woke to a misty cool morning (17 degrees) which feels cold to us, but it soon warms up and by mid afternoon we’re retreating indoors to escape the 30 degree heat!