I woke up at 5.20 and it was Monday which meant the people at Laos airlines would be able to tell me later if I could get a refund on the flight. I got up so I could see the alms ceremony and went to the gate of the hostel but it was locked. I tried to find the key and woke up one of the people who worked there who opened it for me. Out on the street there were tourists sitting waiting for the monks but it didn't look like anything would happen yet and I was expecting more people so I headed more central. I saw some people climbing up the hill so I decided to follow them as there probably wasn't any ticket people there yet which was the case but it was dark which made it harder up the steps and there was not much to see at the top. I went back down and the main monestary nearby still had nothing happening but when I went back towards the hostel I had missed the monks going past there. I went back to the main place called Wat Mai Suwunnaphumaham. The monks were about to head out and the tourists were being told how to make their offerings. The monks came out and I took pictures but it was still dark and I only had my phone. The people sat waiting for more monks after they had gone but none came and after a while a group stopped nearby chanted a bit and went into their monastery and the people all packed upand left. It was still too early for breakfast so I headed on to see another temple while there was nobody checking tickets. A bit further down the road however I was on time for more monks getting alms from Laos people. It was on a corner so you could see them coming and going and one after another groups of monks turned up. After they were finished I carried on walking which happened to be besides the last group of monks who still had some more stops. I walked into the temple and it was better than I had previously thought with a couple of stupas and an older main building. A Woman came to check my ticket so I left and went to the bridge at the end where the UNESCO plaque should be. I walked across the bridge and the view with the reflection on the river was pretty. Then I went to 2 temples on the other side so I was ticking off all the places I'd marked to see on the map. I found some more monks there getting alms even though it was around 7.30 now and sunrise was around 6am. I headed back to the river and headed south to a market where I got 2 small mangoes for 5k. I ate one and crossed the bridge and climbed up past 2 monks sweeping the road to a viewpoint which had a really nice stupa building there. It was closed but supposed to open at 8 and it was almost 8. I ate the other mango but nobody came so I left and went downhill to find a temple on the map was not there. I walked near to my former hostel but carried on and went to the internet place which was still shut. I got back to the hostel before 9 and had the omlette for breakfast. My phone battery was low so I charged it a bit and I got an email from Laos airlines saying that I would only get the 40 USD taxes back so I was going to take the flight. I emailed back and walked to the bus station past the still closed internet place and bought a ticket for the 6.30pm bus to Vientiane which was the last bus which was not a sleeper bus so was a bit cheaper but more importantly for me would mean there was no chance of missing the flight. I stopped in at the supermarket and got a few things and looked to replace my cable in case I couldn't get it back but it was 50k which is more than back home. I walked back past the internet shop and I arrived at the hostel close to 11am and I saw that check out should be 11. So I got my suitcase and put it in the common area. I changed into my board shorts and locked things of value in the suitcase taking just a t-shirt, my phone and the waterproof phone holder. I packed the rest in my HP bag which I left next to my suitcase. The river flowed west so I walked East back to the unesco plaque area and survived the hot ground with my bare feet. I went in the water to swim across and at first there was no current as it was where another river me the Mekong. I thought this was going to be easy and relaxed a bit too early as the middle section had a really fast current and as fast as I swum I was not going to make it to the shore opposite where I wanted and might have to climb through muddy swampy areas otherwise. I tried to head back to the side I'd come from but that was still pretty hard even though I was closer as the current was flowing into the middle. I did make it back a bit tired and decided I would need to go further upstream. So I walked East again and crossed the other river and carried on until I had enough distance and could find a way to the shore. I swam a bit cleverer this time and made it across although it was still tiring. I walked past some people and up a grassy bank and I found another river. I checked the map on my phone and at this part of the river was an island. I crossed the other smaller river easily and walked along a bit to find a new temple being painted. It was hard walking along the stony path with no shoes but thankfully there were less stones and I came to another temple. I looked for a way to the river but there was no clear path so I took a different larger path back and went to another temple where they were asking 10k to visit. Finally there was a viewpoint and temple which also cost 10k but I had brought no money and I find it sad that so many places in Luang Prabang charge entry. I went down to a boat pier and swam back to the island before swimming across the river. Then it was a short walk back to the hostel and it was after 2.30pm. I went to get some food and went past the internet place tracing the route back from the bus station as I'd seen a cheap place. I couldn't find it and decided to get some pot noodles again which I did along with juice and tomatoes again. I went back to the hostel and on the way the internet place was open so I picked up the cable I'd left there. Back at the hostel I booked a flight from Hanoi to Hong Kong and got all my things organised. After 5pm I went and found a tuk tuk and paid 20k fare just to make sure my suitcase would at least last another day. I arrived early at the bus station but the bus was there so I got my suitcase loaded and it went on the roof (great). I checked the map and there was a temple nearby I'd not been to so I went for a walk and went past a dentist on the way but it was a bit late now. The temple was small and had some young monks playing around. I went back and the bus got loaded up a bit after 6 and was absolutely packed. I was glad I had a seat having booked early as some tourists were sitting on plastic chairs in the aisle and this bus went overnight. I realised I'd left my torch in the suitcase which meant I wouldn't be able to read although the moon was full it wasn't that bright. We stopped at 8pm and I got some water and got back early onto the bus and adjusted the bag of the person sitting next to me so that his legs wouldn't have to go into my space.
The bus carried on and I snacked on peanuts, biscuits and ate my last banana. The driver kept his music on which made it hard to sleep and at some point the guy next to me switched with someone else and sat on a chair in the aisle and the bus emptied. I managed to doze of for a bit and at 2am the guy currently sitting next to me got off so after a bit I stretched out and slept some more.
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