An unexpected paradise

Even though we didn't get to sleep till 3am I still woke up early. I got up and went to the hotel we were meant to stay at to see if we could get our money back, after all, it wasn't our fault that the bus was late. The hotel staff didn't speak a word of English. I got onto their wifi and tried using google translate. Not a great tool. In the end they managed to get someone on the phone that spoke English and they explained to me that they don't take online bookings (we booked online) so they couldn't do anything about it. 

Once we were all packed up we set out to find some breakfast and a bus to Tham Kong Lo, a huge cave we wanted to visit. We found breakfast (eggs and bread) and then just got a tuk tuk to the bus station. Unfortunately, there wasn't a direct bus to the cave so we got a ticket for Vieng Kham (half way there). Our bus wasn't till 2 so we wondered round the little market at the bus station and got some noodle soup for lunch. I haven't wanted noodle soup for a while as we had too much of it at one point. But this was pretty nice. The problem is, the soup tastes nice and all the stuff in it but the noodles don't seem to soak up the flavour from the soup so you're left with these flavourless noodles. Maybe a thicker soup would help. 

The bus took about 2 hours (we weren't entirely sure where we were going at this point as the guy that sold us our tickets wasn't very clear) and when we got off a lady asked where we were going. We told her Kong Lor (the village next to the cave) so she took us to get on a tuk tuk with her. The tuk tuks in Laos are different to Cambodia. They're a little truck with a metal frame and cover over the back. Around 10 people can sit comfortably in them. They're like minibuses for the Laotians. Quite a few people were on our tuk tuk so we stopped off at a few places on the way. I only realised that two live chickens had been on with us when a boy and his father got off (this was almost an hour into the journey). Also, I think because I wasn't expecting it, I was awestruck by the views. Massive rocks (mountains) were completely covered with these dark green trees and then rice fields lay beneath, panning out for miles. We climbed up a mountain in the tuk tuk and I was even more taken with the view. This truly was one of the most beautiful places I have been. I can see why people rave about Laos. 

After an hour or so the helpful lady who brought us to the tuk tuk told us we needed to get off however, it was too late to get a bus to the cave (it was half 5 at this point). We'd planned on staying at the village next to the cave but the nice lady offered us a room in her guest house. Her English was decent and she'd been so kind we were happy to accept. It was super cheap too. 

The lady (don't know her name) offered to make us barbecue chicken which we accepted but went for a wonder into the village first. We realised the village was called Nahin and was a popular stop for people before going to the cave. We only saw one group of westerners though. The village was sweet with some shops and restaurants and karaoke bars. Of course, it was surrounded by mountains which made it idyllic and the cows that were roaming the streets (there were a lot of them) made it feel like the countryside. We also saw one cow steal some biscuits from a stall which amused us greatly. 

We wanted to inquire about bikes to see how much they were (in case we need them tomorrow) and if we could learn to ride them. A nice guy that spoke a little English taught Matt and let him ride around for 20 minutes. By the time it was my turn it was getting dark so I thought it safe to hold off. It's the easiest way to get anywhere in South East Asia though so I'd like to learn. 

Back at the lady's guesthouse (it was a kilometre out of the village) we sat down and drank some Laos beer which was a little too fizzy for my liking. We waited on our barbecue chicken, expecting it on sticks or something with a nice marinade. No. We got chicken and chips. They were homemade chips but not the best and the chicken, although tasted alright, was dry and tough. We also got given some sticky rice, a Laotian delicacy, which was served in a cool wicker basket, probably the best part of the meal. We were disappointed to say the least. The 'restauant' of the guesthouse looked more like a village hall with tables moved to the sides, chairs on top (apart from our table). The sound system was impressive with huge speakers and I noticed some spot lights on the ceiling. Maybe it holds discos on certain nights. Tonight it was empty. The lady also charged us a ridiculous amount for the food (50,000 kip each which is about £4) compared to normal prices in Laos. However, the day ended positively as we'd discovered somewhere beautiful, partially by accident.