Well, Laos sure has a different vibe than Thailand. We got across the border, and the three people working the money exchange had about a dozen tallboys of Heineken on the table between them, at 3 PM no less! Turns out it was the end of Buddhist Lent, so everyone in town was partying. We got a taxi to our hotel and saw everyone out at their neighbors’ houses listening to music, drinking beer, and eating.

After we got dropped off, Rose and I walked around for a bit and grabbed dinner. The family that runs our hotel was having their own party in the outdoor space of the hotel overlooking the Mekong, so Rose and I decided to buy a case of Beerlao and try to make friends. Sure enough, our offering got us seats at their table, and we spent the rest of the night cheersing, learning some Lao dance moves, making friends with one of the slow boat operators, and singing karaoke. They even offered us some of their party snacks (fried chicken feet and duck blood soup).

It was a raucous night, and Rose and I were really feeling it today. We basically laid in bed all day, but we did manage to get out of the room for a couple of tasty meals. One place didn’t even have a menu; the owner just said, “You want noodle soup? I got noodle soup.” For dinner, we had a nice meal on a sunset cruise on the Mekong, and when we walked back to the hotel, we stopped along the river, where everyone was setting off fireworks, lighting lanterns, floating offerings, and listening to folk music for another day of Buddhist celebration.

After some more reading, we decided not to take the slow boat to the next stop, Luang Prabang, and instead are opting to bus and train there tomorrow. We have an early start, so good thing we’ve pretty much been sleeping all day!