Pak Beng and the early morning market

So we eventually got half way wit the boat to Pak Beng where we had to stay for the night. I had met a guy on the boat called Martin who had already booked himself in on a hotel and he asked me if I wanted to go halves since it was a double room which I did.

Pak Beng in itself was a bit of a dire town since it seemed to have grown solemnly by the fact that the tourists had to stop there overnight everyday so we got hounded by people trying to get us to their guesthouse but I was safe since I had booking already.

Got into the guesthouse and checked out the room which was basic but alright with a fully working bed and pillow.

Went and had a shower straight away and as soon as I was done the electricity went. The owner walked trough the corridors making an announcement that there were to be no more showers that night…catch me next time suckers!

Got out and grabbed some food and then went for a kip while Martin met up with some friends and tried the selection of drugs that were for sale around in the town (which I might add was a lot). Woke up by a noise from a plastic bag and thought it was Martin who came back but he was nowhere to be seen and the noise stopped. A minute later the noise came back but this time I was prepared with my torch. Turns out Martin had left a half eaten baguette in a bag on a floor and there was a rat as big as a baby trying to pull it in underneath his bed. Classy place! I considered soaping up the legs of the bed for a while but was too tired.

Was woken up the following morning by the owner who said it was seven in the morning and that the boat would leave at eight. Got up pretty quickly to grab some breakfast and while we sat down we realized that it was actually six instead of seven. Guess the owner was trying too much of the towns special merchandise.

I knew there was a market so I decided to go up and check it out. Looked pretty cool and all these Thai hill tribe people were down there so it wasn’t a wasted morning after all.

Tooke some pictures and then it was time to get back to the boat for another eight hours.