Today is probably going to be the shortest post, as we were basically just in transit between Luang Prabang and Huay Xai the entire day. The morning starts off like ant other, we grab a coffee and a small breakfast before catching a ride over to the train station. The ride over was pretty painless, which is something I wish I could say about the later drive.
First we need to board a train going over to Nateuy, which is in the far north, about 20km from the Chinese border (the stop after ours is the crossing point into the country). The train station feels a little out of place in Laos, as it’s a towering building with massive ceilings and enough seating to fit the population of the city it serves (Not exactly, but it’s still a lot of seating considering the city has a population of 55k).
We have some time before our train arrives, so I grab a coffee at the station café and wait for the arrival. We board at the very end of the platform and find our seats. The timing for our arrival in the end destination is a little tight, as if we don’t get off at the correct stop, the next train would not make it in time before the hostel we are staying at closes due to the country’s curfew policy.
Eventually after passing through some very nice scenery comprised of mountains and forests, we make it to Nateuy station. We find a group of people by some vans and showed them our end destination on the phone before the driver gave a nod and pointed into the van. Not entirely certain as to whether he was driving to that destination, as no English words were exchanged, we hop in anyways hoping for the best. We pay the fare and the van is off.
I cannot express how bumpy and rough this 5 hour drive was. It felt like the van was going up and down staircases for most of the drive. If you were not seatbelted in, you would have been flung around the van like a bag of potatoes. I’m very glad I don’t get car sick much. At around the halfway mark, we pull into a small town for a quick break, where I get some more drinks for the remainder of the ride.
After the 5 hour rollercoaster, we pull in the Huay Xai station, which while it was our planned destination, is still a little ways away from the hostel. We find a driver, point at the location on a map, give him some kip, and hop in the back of the vehicle. After a bit of a delay, we head into Huay Xai and are dropped off at the hostel.
The reception at the hostel was very kind and helpful, as the lady greeted us, helped us check in, reccomended some restaurants, and offered to take care of the transit to and visa entry requirement of the Thailand border once we leave. On top of all of that, they also had a dog that visited who was adorable and worth every minute spent petting it. With our bags dropped off in the room, we go to one of the reccomended places to grab some surprisingly good curry and a cold drink to end the day.
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