Shivering in V Vieng

Sunday 31^st January 2016 to Tuesday 2^nd February

So we survived the coldest days in SE Asia on record, as bitter winds swept down from Siberia, giving us single-figure temperatures and pouring rain for 4 days. I really felt for the Lao families, not equipped for the cold, huddling over wood fires by the side of the road, wearing all the jackets they possessed. As for us, well Nouth sent for more blankets from her sister in Vientiane and we disappeared under double duvets for a day or crowded round a charcoal hotpot in the (open-sided) restaurant with the other guests. But it really was no joke for locals and visitors in northern Laos, experiencing frost for the first time.

Riverside bars under water after 4 days of heavy rain

The little dog had been whimpering on the bridge, unwilling to risk the floodwater until a kind bystander took pity on it and helped it over.

The dry riverbed - no longer dry.

One of the great things about travelling is all the eccentric characters you come across. Some encounters are fleeting, others develop into good friendships (often with the assistance of Facebook for staying in touch these days). There’s usually a big turnover of guests at Lao Valhalla because most stay just one or two nights so we get to meet a lot of people over 3 weeks. This week there was the young man from Manchester who claimed to have got so drunk one night in England that he woke up in Bangkok! Then there was the retired couple from Liverpool who had “done” Asia in 2 months (Nepal, Bhutan, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines). Plus Bert from Holland who was teaching himself Moroccan and Thai while he travelled; Gunit who hated her home town Delhi and spoke better English than us; Torsen from Germany who organised us into a last-night barbecue which two young, slightly bewildered, passing Aussie rock-climbers found themselves drawn into, etc.

Then one weekend we were visited en masse by Nouth’s family. Three car-loads drew up: her mum and dad, sisters, brothers-in-law, nephews and nieces, probably about 20 people. All very friendly but not a lot of English so plenty of smiling and “Sabaidee”-ing!

Our favourite sunset beer spot overlooking the river in Vang Vieng.

We had a couple of minor dramas in our last days at Valhalla. There were histrionics one morning when Nouth’s sister-cousin and chief cleaner/cook/waitress/laundrywoman Ahn announced she wanted to take time off and visit family for Vietnamese New Year. She packed her bags there and then, but Nouth said that if she walked out she wouldn’t have a job to come back to! Much shrieking ensued. In the end peace was made and we hope that Ahn will return in a couple of weeks.

Ahn and Kiss.

Then one morning we were woken by an extraordinary roaring noise. We thought a lorry must’ve come off the road. People were shouting and running down the road. I leapt out of bed in time to see that it was a hot air balloon threatening to come down on the trees and power lines. Like the opening scene from Ian McEwan’s “Enduring Love”, the pilot threw down a rope to some passing farmers. They managed to drag the balloon away from danger into the open rice fields. All was well, but it did rather put me off the idea of balloon rides in Vang Vieng!

Another occasion, the balloon almost dunked in the river.

On Saturday we said our fond farewells to the wonderful Nouth, promising to return, and set off on the bus to Luang Prabang.

Karst formation mountains behind Lao Valhalla.

Route 13 – the only main road in Laos – passes through some pretty wild and woolly scenery in the 230 km between Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. In the recent past (1980s) it was also home to gangs of armed Hmong bandits. Fortunately it’s safe from those nowadays although the hairpin bends, falling rocks and steep drops are alarming enough. It’s a single-lane highway of course and there are places where the road has been washed away, leaving deep potholes and landslides to be negotiated, while avoiding collisions with ancient trucks and vans coming the other way. All good fun!

No, we hadn't run someone over! This was the driver checking the brakes and clutch at the top of the pass.

Difficult to capture the views and drops!

Our driver buying oranges.

Arriving safely in Luang Prabang six hours later we grabbed a tuktuk and headed off to our new abode, the Greenhouse Studio on the far side of the Nam Khan.

This is the villa at the front. At the moment it has two couples staying there - French and English.

This is a bit of an adventure for us – an AirBnB apartment where we’ll be looking after ourselves rather than being in a guesthouse. Four years ago foreign visitors were not allowed to rent houses privately in Laos so it’s a sign of the huge changes in the country that it’s now become possible.

Our place here is a “granny annexe” type apartment with all mod-cons, tucked away at the back of a modern villa in a quiet area. It’s got everything we could possible want – a single room with kitchen area, bed, dining area and seating, tiled bathroom plus a terrace overlooking a big garden with trees. Just down the road is a local market and just across the bamboo bridge a five-minute  walk takes us to the centre of town with restaurants, night market, bars etc.

Our front door

Simple but functional.

The view.

I don't know what these trees are in the garden

Here's one of the fruit/flowers?

Oh joy! There's a pair of Asian barred owlets in the garden!

Today we’re planning to cook our first proper meal – stir fry veg and rice. Will we succeed in buying the right ingredients from the market! What could possibly go wrong? Frogs, bats, locusts and chillis anyone?