Buses, boats and bread in Laos

The first hour of our slow boat up the Nam Ou has been pretty good so far. I'm nervous about being too pleased as that has had a tendency to backfire if I congratulate myself too early. There are 9 of us on the boat so far - all tourists - taking the 6-9 hour journey up river from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw. It's the journey itself I am most interested in, enjoying the meander along the river, taking in the dramatic forested hills climbing steeply on either side of us as we siddle past fishing boats on their daily hunt, and residents washing by the riverbank.

It was not the most straightforward journey to obtain information on - our attempts to find the right pier took 7 enquires at several boat depots, travel agents and from random strangers and resulted in 4 different directions and 3 different departures times. We made it eventually, and despite the horror stories about cancelled boats and over charging, we left a mere 15 minutes after our scheduled departure and paid the advertised fare. Win!

If this journey is good, we'll feel slightly vindicated in our agonized choice to take the 13 hour bus from Huay Xai on the Laos border to Luang Prabang (it was quoted as 8-10 hrs) rather than the 2 day boat journey. Most people we've met found the boat journey cramped, long, uncomfortable but very picturesque. Ours was half as long, very beautiful, and took in plenty of hillside villages along the way. It was also pretty crowded and definitely hungry, as we'd banked on there being hot food stalls on every street corner as with the rest of Asia. The lack of a large electricity network, wealth to eat out and tourist demand meant that most of our food options were of the crisp and biscuit variety so when we stopped at 1030pm after 10.5 hours of travel, we wolfed down 6 steamed cobs of corn. Needless to say, even the bread and butter for breakfast at our hostel the next day felt like food from the gods after our diet of bananas, crisps and melted snickers from our 6am to 1am day of bus journey travel.

Speaking of which, I have thoroughly enjoyed the food in Luang Prabang - from the delicious pastries in French cafes, to the Lao casseroles and sticky rice, and the freshly made chocolate and mango crepes from street vendors, it has all been an epicurean delight. Whilst the colonial legacy has blighted the country in many ways, the Laotians have certainly adopted French bread and baked goods with aplomb. I'm eagerly awaiting the halfway point on this boat journey when I can crack open my chicken and avocado baguette, as I soak up the dramatic views of misty lush green hills of this pleasant rural country.