What a week it’s been! Crossed over into Laos, a new country for me and a very nice one indeed. Been quite a travel-heavy week with some new friends and experiences along the way!

Lao it↗

Last issue I was just heading to bed at my space capsule hostel in Kunming, China. Upon opening the door of my capsule at around 5:45am, there was a guy just standing in the pitch black in the middle of the room, staring at my capsule. Really felt like that sleep-watching scene out of Obsession lol. It was quite a jolt but I used the adrenaline rush instead of a coffee when I realised his eyes were closed (which I don’t know if that was better or not) and he was just casually doing some form of meditation.

After that odd awakening, I made a beeline for the station. I had specifically booked the space hostel because it was a station hostel and only a 10-minute or so walk. The rain had other plans…

A nice torrential dump, perfectly timed to when I needed to walk towards the station made me call one last Didi.

Thank God I was decently organised that morning. This was no ordinary train. A bunch more security and needing to get a paper ticket and passport checks meant the train check-in took around 30 minutes.

I still had time for a last Luckin before we pulled away.

There were around 5 stops on the journey, with most of them being in China, weaving through the tea and coffee-country of Yunnan. We even stopped in Pu’er, where the famous Pu’er Cha is from (v nice tea!).

Pu’er was our last proper stop in China and at around 3 hours in we pulled into the Chinese border checkpoint.

Similar to the Mongolian experience (although farrrrrr less waiting), everyone had to get their luggage together and go through the checkpoint for the Chinese side, get back on for literally 10 seconds of movement and then back off for the Lao side.

I’m going to spell Laos as Lao from now on because it was how it was mostly spelled there and how it is pronounced, trying to get away from the French influence.

The Lao border was very chill, I was a bit concerned that I had no real proof of departure but they didn’t seem to mind.

A few more hours on the train hurtling through Lao and we pulled into Luang Prabang.

As usual I tried to ignore all of the station taxi people but they actually turned out to be not only super friendly and helpful but also super cheap!

The 30 minute drive from the station to my hotel cost just over £2!

Upon arriving and accidentality checking in at the wrong hotel, I was finally in my very own room for the next 4 nights!

I chucked a bunch of clothes on the floor of the shower and did the lil shower laundry technique which I actually have no idea how to do.

After a muuuuuuch needed freshen up, it was time to meet a special someone…

Josh was back! And this time he had brought his fiancée, Ava! It was great to meet the both of them, especially hearing so much about Ava and never meeting her until this moment.

I hadn’t seen Josh since the day before my Mongolia to China train, which seems like soooooo long ago.

He had been travelling around South East Asia and we just both happened to be around Lao at the same time.

We had a very nice dinner and stroll around the night market before a couple of BeerLao, very nice!

Josh and Ava departed with some very useful tips of what to do and places to eat around Luang Prabang before they set off for the train to the south the next morning.

Luang Prabang is soooo nice! Got to be one of my favourite places I have visited so far on my travels, it feels a lot like Thailand but toned down a little and with a pretty noticeable French influence.

Something Josh and Ava mentioned which became very apparent was just how calm the place was. You could stroll through the night market or even just through the centre of town and basically hear a pin drop. No loud engines, no shouting people (apart from the Chinese tourists…) and, the most appreciated, no pushy market vendors. Everyone was very chill and super friendly.

I purposefully matched the energy of the town and took it very chill, floating between cafes and temples. The cafes were incredible (the French defo helped out there) and the temples were amazing, really detailed and incredibly well maintained, without the throng of tourists that would come with a Thai temple of similar stature.

On one of the days I tried to be a true local and get over to the other side of the river where I had seen a pretty cool looking restaurant on google maps. Getting across was a bit of a challenge though.

There was a car ferry which went pretty regularly but also supposedly a passenger ferry which I assumed would be cheaper.

I kinda ended up getting ripped off tho as nobody was taking the passenger ferry so I ended up covering the whole fare (still only around £2.50) to cross the river on a ferry just for myself.

I passed my restaurant and was slightly peckish but figured I’d knock off the temples first to build my appetite a bit.

There were no tourists at all on this side of the river and I don’t think they were used to seeing a random guy just strolling along the alleys. I quickly realised the place was most definitely not meant for tourists as it involved crossing through all sorts of farms and schools to get to the temples.

The temples were cool but so far away. I figured since I had already spent all that time (and money!) on crossing over the river, I may as well try and see all of the temples.

By the time they were all done, I was famished and very sweaty.

I trudged the 2k back to the pier where the restaurant was, only to find out that they hadn’t had a food delivery in weeks and so literally only had bamboo…

Bamboo tea it was…

I decided to hop back on the car ferry on the way back as I could see it pulling in and was genuinely close to hallucinating from the no food or water (like 4pm at this point).

The 10p fare allowed me to splash out on a massive beef noodle and cappuccino combo, providing a very sufficient replenishment.

The next days in LP were spent exploring the rest of the temples and getting an awful trim.

On my final day I hopped onto a tuk-tuk bound for the local waterfalls and met a very nice Kiwi couple who I spoke to along the way and ended up offering me both a place to stay and a place to work if I get down to New Zealand. It’s sounding very enticing!!!

The waterfall was pretty cool, there were a few random bears on the way but there were two real motivations as to why I went there.

• Swimming/diving

• Zipline

The swimming and diving was almost immediately out of the question as I saw the sheer volume of water hurtling down the hill and the fact it was completely flooded one of the routes up to the top.

A cheeky (rather steep) climb to the top of the waterfall led me to discover that the zipline was $30! Crazy!! It was literally only 30 seconds as well.

I decided to have a little coffee instead at the top and read some good ol’ Seneca for a while before making my way back down in time for the tuk-tuk back to town.

I banged out a little run later that evening just as the sun was setting which felt great for like 10 seconds before the cascade of sweat descended upon me.

I tried to refresh myself with a fresh coconut but it made me feel significantly not ideal.

I had to basically camp under the AC in my room for close to an hour before I could take a shower and grab some dinner for my last night in LP.

A very swell dinner and mango-sticky rice later and I began packing for another early departure the next morning.

I wanted to get back into Thailand to complete the visa-run and decided to opt for the Mekong slow-boat.

Early the next morning I boarded a tuk-tuk along with some others to the local pier where we clambered aboard the boat.

The boat was basically like an unfurnished house with random bits of furniture scattered around. The chairs were all different and not fixed at all so moved around a little too easily.

I settled myself into a row and, after a little wait, we were off!

I was taking the upstream leg of the journey, into the elevated hills of northern Thailand. Most people take the downstream version because it is not only much faster but also much calmer.

The Mekong is a beast of a river, especially in rainy season. For parts of that first day it seemed like we were salmon, jumping upstream through rapids. The boat would almost be at a standstill sometimes, fighting against the current, before weaving across the river to take advantage of some calmer waters.

I hadn’t expected much in terms of service onboard the slow boat as I had opted for the super cheap one but the lack of food was slightly problematic.

Luckily I had bought some fried banana crisps the day before at the waterfalls and so managed to scrape by but was rather peckish.

As there weren’t too many passengers on board I think the upstream version functions as more of a cargo ship, delivering parcels and things to little communities scattered along the Mekong. At one of these stops we got a very welcome delivery ourselves of some pot noodles and BeerLao, making the afternoon much more bearable.

It was around this time I got talking to the guy in front of me who was from Singapore and had been solo-travelling for a whopping 4 years! All throughout Asia, Africa, South Pacific and Europe. I got some tips on how to reduce my baggage as I am currently trawling around with a 25kg unit of a bag and, depending on how well I pack, 2 or 3 other bags.

He had taken this journey at least 5 times before and so it was very helpful to get some info on what happens at the halfway point as I was completely in the dark.

The rest of the afternoon passed very smoothly indeed. I listened to some tunes, read a decent chunk of my books and tried to nap.

We reached the halfway point, Pakbeng, some 10 hours after we set off and we were all very glad to get off the boat!

I followed Leo, my new Singaporean friend, to a rather hidden hostel along with another couple on our boat that we paid 100,000 Kip for (around £3!).

Leo and I then headed out into Pakbeng in search for some food.

We came across this absolute gem of a spot which seemed to be run by a bunch of 12 year olds and had very confusing menus but very very good food. We both got curries and a BeerLao to try and settle our stomachs after a choppy day on the Mekong.

After some much needed grub we descended upon the only bar in town. This one was run by a 6 year old and an 8 year old, not even joking, their mum was sitting down just doomscrolling and the two boys took our orders and served our beers…

I was challenged to a game of pool by one of them while Leo was given an origami cigarette by the other.

After our, very close, pool game, we somehow got onto the topic of Tung Tung Sahur and brainrot and so were forced to draw their favourite characters.

In return we were given a little lesson in Lao, learning 1 → 10 and some other sayings but I have forgotten them already :/

We were the only people at the bar and it was actually a really wholesome moment being with these two and relating to them even though we have all had completely different upbringings and experience.

After a little boxing match with the older one, it was time to say goodbye and we got back to the hostel for a much needed rest.

I awoke in the morning to the sound of thunderous rain, pelting down on the metal roof of the hostel, the Mekong was going to be even rougher.

We got back to the pier, along with the other couple, and checked back onto the boat.

I thought I had been super organised because I bought my ticket online via 12go but it turns out something had gotten lost in translation because not only had I paid double what Leo paid, I had only paid for the first leg…

I had to hand over the last of my kip (300,000) to cover the rest of the journey down to the border.

Apparently, according to Leo, booking in person is what you need to do in Asia specifically. Often you can get much cheaper fares, more information or free upgrades. He had been buying all of his tickets the day he left for places over the years and it seemed to work for him so maybe I will try and do that more.

That next day was pretty similar to the first (funny that). The rain calmed down a few hours in and the sun started to light up the Mekong, making for a blissful afternoon chugging along through the rice paddies.

There were 6 of us on the boat aiming to cross into Thailand that day. Me, Leo, the couple and another Austrian couple.

If I had been on my own I genuinely would have been so lost. When we docked later that evening, we had to take a tuk-tuk for close to an hour to the border bridge. Not only would that have taken me ages to figure out (due to no service), I would not have been able to pay for it because I used up all of my kip. Leo basically saved everyone who had also exhausted all of their money and had no idea where we were and got us to the border.

We crossed through Lao and had to slip the officer some beer money which was my first time having to do something like that while travelling. It all seemed not too official but oh well.

We then had to hop onto a shuttle across the bridge where we paid even more money and reached the Thai border.

The moment of truth for me. The whole reason (well most of it) why I left Thailand was so that I could reset my visa-free allowance.

It was the first time I have been genuinely kinda worried at a border crossing. Not only did I need to get in, I needed a 60-day allowance if I wanted to do my monk retreat later on (more info on that in a couple of issues!).

I dropped my best sawadee-krap with a top notch (in my opinion) wai (the bow thing), and the border guard showed me his pearly whites with a cheerful smile, I was in the moneyyyyy.

Booooom, 60 day allowance in the bag, I was back in Thailand!

All 6 of us split a tuk-tuk to the local town (we had wanted to get to Chiang Rai that night but it was already 8pm and the buses had stopped running) and checked into the first hotel we could find.

I shared a room with Leo and so it only cost 100 baht (£2.5), absolute bargain!

Bonded by 2 days on the Mekong, brainrot and borders, the 6 of us headed out for a meal together.

This town was literally in the middle of nowhere but we came across an italian-thai (!?) place. It really was that, the woman who ran it was Thai but had lived in Italy for many years and had merged the two cuisines together, creating some pretty amazing food.

It was a very wholesome dinner and completely unexpected when I had first boarded the boat in Lao, it made for a very nice transition from Lao back into Thailand.

The Austrian couple left early the next morning on a longggg bus down into Bangkok while the rest of us could have a bit more of a lie-in before boarding a bus to Chiang Rai, where I have been for the last two days.

I’m currently typing up from a little cafe by the bus station in Chiang Rai. I’ll talk about this place in the next issue but I am a big fan of it!

That’s that!! I hope you are all well! See you next time!

Thought↗

I love having the time to chill on transport. I’ve noticed that I have to be on the go 24/7, doing something or working towards something otherwise I feel very off. Being on something like the slow-boat for 2 days means I am literally moving towards something, allowing me to fully relax in my thoughts.

Album of the week↗

Austin - Post Malone (2023)

Wait wait wait! Before you write off Post Malone as being ‘washed’. Please give this album a try. Halfway inbetween his rap → country music transition, this album is probably his least known but it’s because it’s, in my opinion, his most personal and raw album. This is even reflected in the album name ‘Austin’ referring to the rapper’s real name and not the city in Texas. I honestly really like all of the songs in this but a few standouts are: ‘Don’t Understand’, ‘Something Real’, ‘Mourning’ and ‘Landmine’. It has some brilliant guitar riffs and creative composition, not just your standard album and not completely country nor rap (more like soft-rock I’d say).

Book rotation↗

Chaos - James Gleick, finally getting interesting turning away from his rant on academia and on actual maths stuff

Letters from a Stoic - Seneca, the letters are kinda feeling a little repetitive to be honest, Seneca seems to just spout the same things just worded slightly differently.

---