Although we had promised ourselves a day off after 2 hard travel days, plans changed. They are fluid, like the river.

I had a great night’s sleep, and was up shortly after 6:00. We went walking around town, looking for a nicer guest house to hang out in, and for some breakfast. The higher-rated hotel was a dump, but we ate breakfast there--only omelette--no bread. Saw the market, and had a bowl of soup.

Decided we didn’t want to spend a whole day here--not attractive, dirty, no good food--so we made arrangements to get out. Figured we would spend our 1 free day in a more desirable location.

Laos River Trip We chartered our own boat and driver for about $40. It was a pleasurable ride--so much better than road travel. The scenery got really spectacular on the second half, with lots of very tall mountains that the river flowed around.

Our captain met a buddy halfway down, and they had us switch boats so they could return to their respective towns for the evening. The second boat was less comfortable, and had a canopy which blocked my view of some of the peaks, and cut short my tanning session.

Photographically, it didn’t amount to much because of haze, and the lack of great lighting, but it was a very pleasant ride.