Laos Arrival & The Missing Photos

I would like to include the photo of the Buddhist monk sitting next to me with our packs at the front of the long tail boat as we crossed the Mekong River from Thailand to Laos but the image seems to have mysteriously vanished. For whatever reason all of my photos from the last two days spontaneously disappeared from my camera memory card for no obvious reason. I had just browsed through the photos and went to back them up on my computer but found them oddly gone. Pictures can do a good job at telling a story and I like to complement my blog with them so I was disappointed to lose the images. I assume the card is corrupted or something so I replaced it with another. I’ll hold on to the bad card and see what I can do to retrieve the photos when I get home.

Well, photo issue aside; I finally made it to Laos with my good friend Debs. There was a noticeable different country vibe the moment I stepped off the boat. Obtaining a visa on arrival and going through immigration was a total breeze. Nothing to it. Just fill out a couple of forms and pay a fee. No hassles whatsoever.

The border town we arrived in is Huay Xai and sits on the banks of the mighty Mekong River. It’s a fairly long single road village lined with small businesses, restaurants and guest houses. The village is mainly a jumping off point for travelers seeking a slow boat down the Mekong on a two day trip to Luang Prabang. Originally that was my plan but Debs and I have decided to head north instead. The area of Luang Nam Tha offers some good opportunities for trekking and fewer tourists. After so much time in the cities I’m really looking forward to more rural travel in a country that has a lot of room to move around.