"I'll be there for youuuuu!"
Weds 20th/Thurs 21st feb
The combination of a hangover and the need to rest meant we had two days relaxing. Played cards, watched films, planned the next few days and lazed around in the bars/restaurants watching neverending friends and family guy episodes whilst eating too much food.
Friday 22nd feb
With our new friend the hostel dog at our side we walked to breakfast at the Luang Prabang bakery and had some pastries. Luckily doggy fell asleep and didn’t follow us for the next part of our journey. After failing to get an automatic scooter we opted for a manual which made for an interesting journey down dirt roads to the Poukham cave and the blue lagoon. When we arrived the lagoon was completely deserted as we got there early but we resisted the temptation to jump in knowing we would appreciate it much more after messing around in the cave.
We did a steep mountain climb, 15 minutes, to the mouth of the cave. With one headlamp and a lighter as our only equipment and with no guide we ventured far in to the deep dark depths of the cave. No flat paths or handrails, just slippery rocks, stalagmites, stalactites, a Buddhist statue, a lot of dust and mud, a person or two every now and again, and a lot of holes with the sign ‘danger’ in front but no precautions to stop you falling in. Naturally we loved it.
After an hour or so of exploring we were filthy as we spent most of the adventure on our hands, chests and bums. After scrambling back down the rocks we decided it was the opportune time for our deep lagoon splash. Keeping our dirty clothes on we took it in turns to jump into the lagoon using the rope swing and gave ourselves and our clothes a much needed bath. After messing around in the lagoon with a big audience this time, jumping off trees and making use of the averagely safe rope swing we headed off and decided to use up the petrol we had put in the motorbike. Went on a lovely scenic drive through lots of local villages, with mountains in the background, being poked at with big sticks by children and shown a possibly live but most likely dead lizard by another young child.
After a late lunch, some more friends episodes and a very long skype session we had an early night in preparation for early morning tubing…