Tuesday 11th November.
Bangkok Airport

So after my outpouring of the rotten time I had after leaving NLF I concentrated on immersing myself in the next part of my journey. My Facebook contacts will have seen the pics and the many posts I added so I won't go into too much detail again, besides if I'd been logical I'd of made some notes to refer to but I've done no such thing and the past few days have passed in a blur...

So to start where I left off, staying at the Nakaraj Princess Hotel, nestled in the cliff above the Laos border all gold gaudy and v over the top... After a long shower and a rest. I went in search of dinner, the hotels dining room was empty. A nice guy, who I later learnt was from Korea, had spent 7 years in London, had met his wife there and had their first child there. He was happy to chat and when I asked for him to recommend a local dish he asked his colleagues to give me guidance. He also offered a bottle of wine, on the house! A notorious drinking light weight, I had a couple of small glasses that I enjoyed, but as well as the booze, I'd just started on anti-malaria pills along with my other meds so didn't think it was wise to get too tipsy, however tempting if felt and justified after such a rotten day!

I felt a little awkward in the deserted room, conscious of the staff watching eager to fill my glass, take away my plate.... Country and western music was playing in the background didn't really match the ambiance of the experience! I tried some of the suggested dishes which were tasty but I didn't really make much of a dent in the platters of food. You know when u feel uncomfortable in case they think u don't like it! What I really fancied was a bowl of ice cream to finish the meal off.... They looked blank when I asked about desert, my nice Korean man had gone so I couldn't get him to translate. What about some fruit I asked, mango, melon, banana? Oh breakfast was the reply! I ended up with an iced coffee, they asked if I wanted to take the rest of the wine back to my room, best not I tried to explain, it was red wine, I would like to finish tomorrow night please.... I walked around the grounds and sat by the beautiful pond which had fountains which were all lit up, it was v pretty and felt such a long way from New Life...

I'd hoped to watch some TV back in my room, but of all the 40+ channels none were in English... So I read, have done lots while I've been away and made a plan for an early start in the morning....

Breakfast was rubbish I got to the (deserted again) dining room around 8.30am expecting to see a large buffet of fruits, pastries etc...I had to go and find someone and asked if I was in the right place for breakfast, yes she replied and pointed to a table. Within a minute she bought a sweet coffee, a glass of milk, a bottle of water and a cold plate with 2 congealed fried eggs, streaky bacon, salad and a slice of toast.... Breakfast she said with relish... It looked v unappetising... After taking a sip of coffee I asked for another, but no sugar and some fruit? She shook her head apologetically, stood for a while and left... I drank the coffee, ate the slice of toast, then left....

Oh dear, that didn't go so well.... I went for a walk after breakfast, in daylight it was clear that the Hotel really was quite alone in the middle of no where.... There was a complementary bus that would take guests into town... I'm decided I'd have a rest then find out about the bus.... I did some research about the local town online, it's on the Mekong and is mostly a place whereas u board the boats, not much there, but there wasn't much at the hotel either so I thought I would check it out.....

It was further away than I'd realised, I thought that I'd possibly walk back when I'd finished looking around, but that was before I realised the distance involved!

The "Town" full of rustic charm? Dusty dirty and pretty deserted for the 'main town' the transfer from hotel had taken 20 plus minutes so I'd expected something more although I've no idea what? When reception asked where I wanted to go I'd asked to look around the town. Having walked up and down twice, walking slowly to avoid huge holes in sidewalks then down to the river I decided to have some lunch as breakfast had been a disappointment. I was now quite peckish. I stopped at a cafe that claimed to have restaurant in garden which I thought would make a pretty change from the street, I followed the sign which had an arrow pointing to promised location to be told, 'no garden, sit here' so I shared road side space with parked motorbikes and blackboard menu over promising to lure the tourist in.... I ordered ice coffee to be greeted with a blank stare, showed my confused waitress the item on the menu saying I wanted it cold, she then showed me a tin of Liptons iced tea!

Eventually got the requested beverage, it was refreshing and not too sweet, they love sugar and condensed milk, leaving a nasty coating on your teeth and the potential to strip the enamel! This glass tasted good though and gave me confidence to order some food... So as I was in Hauy Xai I ordered Pizza! Ha ha, chicken and cheese, freshly made, not out of freezer cabinet v thin crispy base tasty chicken breast with lots of herbs. It made a welcome change after a month of brown rice and veggies! As the only customer I felt I'd inconvenienced the family, all sitting on the floor chatting and relaxing at the back of cafe when I asked for a second iced coffee!

Watching the world go by, or rather dozens of scooters and bicycles, 2 sometimes 3 people precariously balanced, not a crash helmet in sight but a lot of ladies riding while holding an umbrella and chatting on their mobile... From babes in arms to very ancient grannies and grandpas... Lots of Arsenal and Manchester United football shirts, seeming very out of place! All the buildings/shops share a similar look of haphazard chaos. It was difficult to decide if they were falling down or in the process of being built/renovated! Fading vinyl signs advertising beer, slow boat and bus tickets and makeup.

The hotel had loaned me a mobile phone to call when I wanted to return, I pressed redial for the hotel's number and it just rang, I wasn't that surprised as the reception always seemed deserted, I dialled again to hear a pre-recorded message saying that my call was unable to be connected, several times I tried but no success.... I started to panic, I checked my bag for the hotels details, I'd forgotten to bring them with me, so I was stuck in "town" the sun was beating down and a sense of dread filled me.... I had my passport, credit cards and cash. I reasoned that with those things, even if I was stranded I would be ok. I also had my iPad, I needed wifi then I could retrieve the confirmation email, logic and a reminder to myself to breathe was helpful at allaying my fears.

I tried the phone once again, expecting to hear the same recorded message when a human being answered! Joy..... A frustrating conversation ensued as I tried to explain I was where the driver had dropped me off.... "Please come and get me, I need to get back to the hotel" I pleaded blinking back tears. The phone clicked and they were gone, I had to pray that they understood.... I found some shade and sat on a step in front of a guest house opposite the pick up point and practiced Mindfulness alternating with a huge dollop of self recrimination, chastising myself for once again being so bloody stupid unprepared and "blond".... I was so very happy when I saw the silver minivan come into view after waiting for 40 minutes, relieved doesn't come close!

As the minivan made it's way back to hotel, following the Mekong, the scenery was like none I'd ever seen, I had to look twice as we past a large school, with children playing on the sports field which they shared with a couple of skinny cows! It's a place where anything goes, it's quaintly chaotic but clearly doesn't sit well with my need for some kind of predictable order! I'm obviously far more anal than I ever thought I was!
After a filling lunch I thought I'd give dinner a miss that night, by around 5pm thought I fancied a nice coffee and perhaps a cake? Once again the restaurant was empty, I sat on the terrace wanting to catch the last of the days sunshine.. I was beckoned inside where it was cooler, no I want to stay here thank you, I asked for a coffee and cake which was met with blank stares, eventually I googled an image of a cake on IPad and showed all three of the staff.... Out came a coffee, a small plate with a pastry folk and a plate of rich tea and Oreo cookies! Have u any ice cream I asked? Clearly not! Oh well, laughter was the only response that and a feeling that the Universe was clearly stopping me from eating empty (but delicious) calories!

The guy from the river cruise was due to collect me from hotel at 9am the following morning so (for a change) I had an early night! The silence was deafening! Lol! I got to breakfast earlier and just had toast, I knew not to expect much this time so wasn't disappointed. I checked out the room, settled my bill with 10 mins before my ride was due... I'd explained to the receptionist and she seemed to understand. I guy appeared with a clipboard and my luggage was loaded into a car. I had to pay the guide for the cruise and I had the cash ready, we started down the hill and I had a nagging feeling..., Stop I called out to the driver.... We go on the Mekong, you take the money? He didn't have a clue..., No you must turn around I said, quite assertively (I thought) poor guy looked very confused but he reversed back up the hill, I got out and found the manager he had a slightly better understanding of English.... It turned out that the "driver" worked for the hotel, they were helpfully going to take me to the river.... Out of the boot came my luggage of and I waited in reception for the "proper" guide Mr Komsi to arrive, with my details on his sheet.... That was a very near miss!!

We made several stops along the way, picking up from different guesthouses then we met the rest of the passengers at the riverside. A total of 24 plus the staff. The boat was delightful, clean, comfortable and certainly was the better way to travel than some of the reports I'd read about other peoples experiences of "slow boats" cruises. It had cost a bit more, but for 2 days I didn't have to worry Bout anything...

My fellow passengers weren't v friendly, none was interested in engaging in conversation with me, once again I was the only one travelling alone... But the view was breathtaking, it was very comfortable not at all choppy, they served a nice traditional lunch cooked by the "family" who had living quarters on board, the family included a sweet little girl, probably a year old, the whole time I didn't hear her cry once....

I was looking forward to stopping to visit a school the cruise company support through donations from every ticket sold. We were asked if we would like to  gift the school, books, pencils etc, but of course we didn't have any so the guide said not to worry. I asked if I could make a donation of money, I'd read about the work and for these youngsters education really is the only way to make improvements to their chances for the future. I gave £10 which is nothing really but he said it was very generous as he made out a receipt. ( it seemed that no one else did, which is thought was bad, especially when we were going to be face to face with the kids) The boat stopped and we started our way up the unmade cliff, it was steep, very sandy, grateful not to be wearing flip flops, I was worried that I was holding people up so I lagged behind, about 3/4 of the way, the "path" dipped then went into another very steep slippery incline, it was hot, humid, I was out of breath then I was struggling to catch my breath, I reached for my inhaler which I'd foolishly left on the boat.... I was desperate to reach the top, to see the kids and the school, but I was worried that if I took another step up, I'd put my health in danger, it could be miles from "civilisation" and what a bother it would be for everyone on the boat..

Somehow, I got back to the boat by which time I was struggling a lot, I  felt foolish and poorly in equal measures. The lovely family bought me a cool towel, some water and gave me some space as I waited for the inhaler to kick in, thankfully the other people didn't return for about half an hour, by which time, I'd regained my composure and had a little sleep.... I was sorry to of missed seeing the school.

After 6 hours on the river we arrived at our overnight stop. My room was like something out of a Tarzan movie.... All bamboo, reeds, high on stilts in the trees.  The view out across the river was amazing. It got dark v quickly so I had an early dinner, then tucked myself under the huge net to keep out the insects and read.... We had to be back on the boat by 7.30am the following morning for a long days cruise....