2 Lost Pairs Of Pants And A Funeral.

As would be residents of Lunag Prabang we've finally made a decision, about moving on. We went to see out monk mate, building the Buddha. He mentioned that the festival that celebrates the end of the rainy season, is on Sunday. Now, seeing how this is a boat festival and we are sat right bang on the Mekong, then we thought it made sense to stick around. This would be a good place to witness our first celebration/festival since we've been away.

So after Sunday, well that'd be Monday, we'll be heading off for the Plain Of Jars. A place of great mystery, by all accounts. A vast area covered with huge stone jars, hundreds of them scattered across miles. No one is quite sure why they are there. Some think that they were used for storing the ashes of the dead, the size of your jar denoting your status. After the Plain Of Jars it's full-steam-ahead to the capital of Laos, hopefully to meet up with the boss-lady of the UN out here.

Sam had the laundry just at the back of us do a load of washing. When she got it back she was missing 2 pairs of pants. All we can think is that they got tangled up with some other travelers stuff. So there could be some poor bloke been accused of all sorts, because his girlfriend found a pair of Sam's pants mixed with his.

We've noticed everyday while we've been here, a gathering of people just at the top of a street near where we are staying. They sit there day and night around tables, either eating or playing cards, dozens of them. Last night we found out what it is all about. As we wandered through teh crowd there was a western face among them. So Sam stopped and asked him, what it's all about. He was a German who ran an IT school in Luang Prabang. It turns out that it is a funeral, or a wake of sorts. The body of the relative was inside, and all the family sit around outside for 2 or 3 days. This lot however seemed to be going for the record, as they couldn't bury the lady until all the relatives had arrived, many of them travelling from across the world.

Today we went to the waterfall near to Luang Prabang. This guy has been asking if I want to go since we got here, he caught up with me last night and we shook on the deal. So today we headed off with him and his family, by boat somewhere down the crazy river. After a half hour or so slow boat ride we pulled up, jumped off and was loaded into a tuk-tuk. One hell of a bumping ride down a dirt track for another 15 minutes got us to near the waterfall, only a short walk away. Some people come from Lunag Prabang, by tuk-tuk all the way, they must be mad. The waterfall was truly breath-taking, I don't mean in the "Wow! That is breath-taking, isn't it?" way. I mean it quite literally took your breath away. We climbed onto rocks just in-front of the rushing waters. and found we could hardly catch our breaths.

Lots of wandering, admiring the view and becoming all snap-happy, we had a great time. A really beautiful place, well worth the $10 each the whole trip cost us. The liesurly journey back against the tide took a little longer. However we sailed close to the bank, so we got to see close-up the rain forest and amazing rock formations that line the banks of the Mekong. Stopping for 5 minutes, just outside Luang Prabang at our guide's village, we were greeted with squeals of "Falang, falang..." As a load of cheeky little boys ran down to the rivers edge, stripped down to their pants and dived in the river. The whole trip was massively enjoyable, and it was good to get out of the main town for an afternoon.

Tonight I think we are heading for the Night Market, which is full of all sorts of handicrafts. Time to do some present buying I think.

Oh by the way. I finished One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, I'm now reading Philip K Dick's, The Man In The High Castle. Another all time classic. Plus the current Black Jack scores are 38 to me, 32 to Sam.