If Pak Beng is on your list of 'Top 10 Places to Go Before I Die', I'm going to persuade you otherwise. If you have your heart set on going to Pak Beng, don't click the little 'read more.'
I saw the little village built on the side of the mountain and thought "ok, this could be cool." The driver pulled up and docked the boat. We all put our packs on, and then we balanced across this 10" wide plank for 8 or 10 feet to get from the boat to dry land. Luckily, nobody slipped or lost their balance. After that, we had to hike up this sandy, rocky hill in flip-flops, while wearing our big packs. Not fun. It didn't help that innkeepers were trying to sell rooms to us the whole way.
We got to the top and went to find a hotel/guest house for the night. We found one, and I think we might have been able to do a little better. It was only like $20 for the two rooms (these two rooms cost less than breakfast this morning, by the way) so that was good. You remember the saying "you get what you pay for"? That applies here, to some extent. We do have enough beds for everyone. The floors are scary, it's a 'shoes on' kind of place, so I'm glad nobody has to sleep on the floor. There are a ton of mosquitoes, and no mosquito nets. The power is iffy, and supposedly the town's generator shuts down at 10:30. We'll see. The bathroom is pretty scary too. There isn't a light, for one thing. It is just a little room, with the shower and sink draining into the same drain. The toilet just sits there. There isn't a flush, you take a little bucket and dump water into the toilet to flush it. Wifi is out of the question, luckily we have my dad's mobile hotspot thingumabob. Ok, that's enough about the hotel.
We were hungry after the long boat ride, so we went to find some dinner. We saw one place that looked alright, so we went there. It ended up being under $10 for all of us to eat dinner. The restaurant was dark, and I could barely see my fried rice. The food wasn't that great, but it put something in our stomachs. We stopped by some little stalls on the side of the road to get some more food. Natually, we were nearly out of Laos Kip. (Which are about 8,000 kip to 1 dollar. A million kip is around $125. It was pretty great when we withdrew a million kip from the atm. Several times.) We bought some chocolate bread and my dad said "that was the most confusing transaction. . . ever." They quoted the first price in kip, but we didn't have enough kip, so they converted it to Thai bot. We payed in bot, then they wanted to give us change in kip. We probably got ripped off in the whole thing.
That was a pretty negative blog post, so let's end on a positive note: we are leaving Pak Beng tomorrow!
I saw the little village built on the side of the mountain and thought "ok, this could be cool." The driver pulled up and docked the boat. We all put our packs on, and then we balanced across this 10" wide plank for 8 or 10 feet to get from the boat to dry land. Luckily, nobody slipped or lost their balance. After that, we had to hike up this sandy, rocky hill in flip-flops, while wearing our big packs. Not fun. It didn't help that innkeepers were trying to sell rooms to us the whole way.
We got to the top and went to find a hotel/guest house for the night. We found one, and I think we might have been able to do a little better. It was only like $20 for the two rooms (these two rooms cost less than breakfast this morning, by the way) so that was good. You remember the saying "you get what you pay for"? That applies here, to some extent. We do have enough beds for everyone. The floors are scary, it's a 'shoes on' kind of place, so I'm glad nobody has to sleep on the floor. There are a ton of mosquitoes, and no mosquito nets. The power is iffy, and supposedly the town's generator shuts down at 10:30. We'll see. The bathroom is pretty scary too. There isn't a light, for one thing. It is just a little room, with the shower and sink draining into the same drain. The toilet just sits there. There isn't a flush, you take a little bucket and dump water into the toilet to flush it. Wifi is out of the question, luckily we have my dad's mobile hotspot thingumabob. Ok, that's enough about the hotel.
We were hungry after the long boat ride, so we went to find some dinner. We saw one place that looked alright, so we went there. It ended up being under $10 for all of us to eat dinner. The restaurant was dark, and I could barely see my fried rice. The food wasn't that great, but it put something in our stomachs. We stopped by some little stalls on the side of the road to get some more food. Natually, we were nearly out of Laos Kip. (Which are about 8,000 kip to 1 dollar. A million kip is around $125. It was pretty great when we withdrew a million kip from the atm. Several times.) We bought some chocolate bread and my dad said "that was the most confusing transaction. . . ever." They quoted the first price in kip, but we didn't have enough kip, so they converted it to Thai bot. We payed in bot, then they wanted to give us change in kip. We probably got ripped off in the whole thing.
That was a pretty negative blog post, so let's end on a positive note: we are leaving Pak Beng tomorrow!
Sam, relax and enjoy the ride. Have a great tomorrow! We love you! GP Roy
ReplyDeleteSam, step back, take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the ride. Have a great tomorrow! Spent several months in the regions! GPRoy
ReplyDeleteI loved this blog--I laughed (and cried) all the way through it. Sam, you are a great writer, with a great imagination. Well, maybe you don't need an immginagion--just "tell it as it is!" I think your family may be writing a new definition for the idea of "roughing it." I am also glad you are leaving Pak Beng. Great blog--and I can visualize in my mind many of the things you are writing about.
ReplyDeleteGrandpa Hull
well, everything will probably get better from here--sounds like you hit rock bottom. We know a place you could stay in the Philippines that could be worse! But no, you will be staying right by us and it will be great. We are so excited to have you come. Grandma Hull
ReplyDeleteI hope it doesn't get any worse, at least, and we are all super excited to come see you again!
DeleteHow would this compare to the cabin we had at Fishlake? Grandma Hull
ReplyDeleteThat cabin was like a 5-star hotel. Ok, maybe 4-star. Oh wait, you are probably talking about the rustic cabins. I didn't go on that particular trip, so I don't know. We stayed at another cabin once at Fishlake, and that one was pretty good compared to Pak Beng.
DeleteIt's right on the same level as the Fish Lake Rustic cabin.
Delete