Chiang Khong and Beyond!

Chiang Mai to Laos required a mini bus ride for around 6 hours, blood had stopped running to all parts of my body by then, and the first stop en route, required all kinds of mental persuasion to get back on for the rest of the journey. We ended up in a one street town, called Chuang Khong. It is the river entrance to Laos, as Laos is just across the river, it takes 4 minutes to get there, but only 2 boats a day, we had missed both, driving to Chiang Khong, so had to hold up all night in this dismall town. So we watched Trainspotting and Dodgeball. Hehe. The Mekong river was flowing right outside our place, so I was up early hoping for some good light for photgraphs, no such luck though. Still got some nice shots I think. Really not much to tell about Chiang Khong, really just a border town, nothing to see or do.
We got the boat across to Huang Xai I believe. Although it is hard to remember the names of everywhere we passed. As we got on the small longboats to cross the river, it was running so fast that Amy and I and 2 others, with all bags etc, literally turned so we were heading up stream, while gently edging right, to the banks on the other side. The currant is so strong that you need to angle the boat in order to get across, or you will just shoot down the river, or tip over. Some nifty longboat driving.
Got there and they checked our visa, we changed $60 into Kip, Laos currencey, and got 600000 of them. Some changed 100 bucks became milionaires in an instant. Crazy. 10000 to the dollar.
We were bound for the slowboat, and a few of us who had heard Beer Laos is real nice, started sampling it at 8.30 am. Ready for the craic on board.
For the sake of Jackie and Sara, it was 6.15 am when this photo was taken, some people are mornign people, some aren't, clearly. And that place accross the river is Laos....... Cool huh, I am in Thailand with a camera photographing Laos. Nearly as weird as the Holcombe Bay spin out in North Norfolk. Those of you who know what I mean, have you worked out why the sun sets in the East in Norfolk??