We had to arrange transport for Laos for the following day so we went to laughing, pregnant lady and she suggested the slow boat on the Mekong to Luang Prabang. It would take three days to get there. We didn't want the speed boat (we'd seen pictures and heard stories!) so for 1150 Baht we had it all arranged. As we'd arranged our Visa with her the minivan driver who picked us up would have our passports.

Not much really left to do so we headed up to Doi Suthep as Dave hadn't been there. Afterward we tried to find a different bar that had farangs in. We couldn't so we ended up at our local.

We're up early and checked out. Dave headed off to change some cash while I exchange my old book for a couple of new ones, I think electricity may be a problem in Laos. We sort out some internet stuff and get a disk of our pictures burnt before waiting for our ride to Chiang Khong.

The Minivan arrives without our visa or passports! The driver has no idea what we're talking about so I ran off to the travel agent and she has an angry argument down the phone (only time she's not smiling) and tells me we'll get them after we've picked everyone up.

On our minivan is Stepan, a Czech; Koen, a Dutchman; Jason, a Yank; Two Israelis called Moshe and Eyal; and a Swedish girl called Susanne. The minivan journey was 5 hours so we got to know each other a litlle.

When in Chiang Khong we all checked into the same guesthouse and Dave and I head for the local ATM. Afterward we all sat down to dinner before crossing the road to a bar (owned by a Finn) for a couple of beers. Later Stepan, Koen and Susanne joined us. As we had an early start when we crossed the border we all had an early night.