And off we go to Luang Prabang

[by Franzi] Another night bus ride is over, we are in Luang Prabang. This time we took a sleeper bus. A bus that had built-in "beds". In principle, these were reclining seats, two on top of each other and three side by side with a small aisle in between.

However, once again there was a little problem... Our bus didn't arrive. We were supposed to be picked up at the hostel at 6:30 PM, but no bus, tuk-tuk or pickup truck came. After about 20 minutes, Jonas went back to the hostel to ask when we would be picked up and only then did it turn out that our hostel issued us the bus tickets without booking the trip with the bus company. So we waited and waited without being picked up. If we hadn't asked again, we probably would never have been picked up... 5 minutes after the hostel sorted it out, a pickup truck finally arrived and took us to the bus station at a rapid pace. The driver raced through the streets like a race car driver, overtaking other pickup trucks, cars, and scooters.

When we arrived at the bus station, our driver exchanged our voucher from the hostel for our bus tickets and showed us the bus that would take us to Luang Prabang. Due to the speedy drive that our driver had, we thought we were running late and would be the last ones to board the bus. But that wasn't the case at all. Since our hostel didn't register us with the bus company, there was probably no more room for us in the originally intended bus, so we were simply booked onto another sleeper bus, which only left at 8:30 PM. So we had more than an hour waiting time at the bus station, which turned out to have nothing to offer after a brief look around. We waited outside the bus and watched as people boarded the other sleeper bus to Luang Prabang, which was supposed to leave half an hour earlier and we probably should have taken. Shoes had to be taken off before entering the bus and packed into a plastic bag, and it was checked who got on. As soon as the bus left the bus station, the doors of our bus also opened and we were able to board. Our seats were at the very back of the bus, probably because our hostel didn't register us. The advantage, however, was that there were three seats right next to each other in the back row without an aisle in between. To our surprise, no third person joined us and we had three seats to ourselves.

The ride was calm. The driver drove fast, but we're used to that by now. The only noticeable thing was that the roads here are not particularly well-developed, let alone any highways or the like, which is why it took us about 10 hours for the almost 350 km. If you looked out the window occasionally during the drive, you could catch a glimpse of the beautiful jungle landscapes in the darkness, which suggests that this trip is worth it even during the day. The "seats" were quite comfortable for a bus, although, as it should be, I was too tall and I was lucky that we were the only ones with a seat where I could stretch my legs into the aisle without bothering anyone else. The only disadvantage on the bus was that the air conditioning was running at full blast and we even froze at times.
At some point in the early morning, the bus stopped, and we realized that we had already arrived at the bus station in Luang Prabang. Everyone woke up and got off. When we got off last, because we were lying all the way at the back of the bus, almost everyone had gotten into pickup trucks and loaded their luggage onto the roofs. The city center was still 2-3 km away. Actually, we had planned to walk this distance, but after the bus ride, we didn't feel like it and also got on the trucks (20,000 Kip per person = 1.96€). Since there was no more space on the "loading area", Franzi had to get in front in the driver's cab with her backpack. Sitting in the back of the pickup truck, I noticed that it was unusually cold outside (about 18 degrees). You can probably tell that we are at the northernmost point of our journey so far. Just before reaching the city center, a French guy who had traveled with us on the bus asked the driver if he could stop here and let her out. We thought that was a good idea, as our accommodation must also be nearby. Unfortunately, my phone didn't have the previously saved maps of the city anymore, and we had to rely on our sense of direction and just started walking. After about 5 minutes, we spotted a sign for our accommodation, "Soutikone Place House 2," between run-down walls of houses. At first, we weren't particularly thrilled, but as we approached the sign, we saw that it also had an arrow pointing to a small path between the houses. When we finally got a glimpse inside, we were relieved. It looked really nice, and we had the view described on the internet: a mostly dark wooden path surrounded by many plants. We approached the reception in the open entrance area, but at that time, there was no one there. So we took the opportunity to take a look at the accommodation: an open hallway leading to stairs, with wooden room doors on the sides. In terms of ambiance, I think this is the most beautiful accommodation we have had so far. When we walked back to the reception through the short corridor, suddenly a boy our age was standing there, greeting us warmly. We even got a welcome tea and later even a breakfast of our choice, even though we had only booked our room from noon onwards.

After a short rest nap, because after such a bus ride you're not as well-rested as you always hope, we decided to just stroll through the city without a specific destination. As a result, we walked along the small river of the city, "Nam Khan," to its mouth in the Mekong River and noticed that the city is very tourist-friendly, but in a pleasant way. You're not bothered by tuk-tuk drivers or directed into shops by people. Here, there is a relaxed atmosphere in which we immediately felt comfortable.

On the way back, we decided to have something to eat (90,000 Kip = 8.85€ for 2 meals and a fruit shake). Now we're back at the hostel, looking up some cities in the travel guide and the internet for our onward journey, and we're getting ready to go to the well-known night market here.

[by Franzi] The night market wasn't really anything special in my opinion. There were mainly a lot of clothes to buy, everywhere the same ones. But there was also a lot of handicrafts and jewelry. However, there was no technology like at the night market in Vientiane. Instead, there was a small food market that we haven't fully explored yet. But we did buy a crepe with Nutella and bananas (10,000 Kip = 0.97€) and a freshly made fruit shake (15,000 Kip = 1.46€), made with 100% fruit (mango, banana, apple, pineapple, lemon), both of which tasted really good.

The plan is to stay at this hotel in Luang Prabang until Monday and see what we do until then and how we plan our onward journey. Stay tuned!

Franzi and Jonas

PS. The prices in euros vary because the exchange rates fluctuate, so don't be surprised that, for example, 10,000 Kip sometimes have different € prices listed.