Laos : Huay Xai - Luang Prabang : Slow Boat; Rain; Steak

My first day on the slow boat was cramped and definitely slow. We slid through fantastic scenery – high mountains with cloud covered peaks lit by bright angles of sunlight.
I was stuck in the middle row seats and couldn’t see. The six hours oozed by fairly uneventfully. Liv saw it all and had a great time. I did meet Mitul – a slick but shy Indian guy from West London. He was zipping through cities on a 4 month, non-stop round the world race with his wheelie suitcase. This proved outstandingly practical along the river mud banks. Everyone thought we were nuts because of the fasting, we developed quite a reputation. It did begin to drive us nuts – we had long conversations about FOOD – perfectly prepared and in gigantic portions.
The next day Liv and I got on LAST – we tried to engineer our way onto another (locals only) boat with loads of spare room, but failed. The main boat was already full, but we were given fantastic plastic chairs to put in the aisle – loads of legroom and a great view.
That day it RAINED - fat rain that massaged your palm and obliterated the water’s surface. The sky poured for hours until it was blue again – we had a gorgeous next couple of days in Luang Prabang.
The Imodium had proven very effective for our three toiletless days of travel. It continued to work its magic right into next week.
Our dreams were fulfilled. We ordered. We imagined – a thick succulent slab of steak, crisp and brown on the outside and pink and moist on the inside. It came with a rich mushroom sauce, some pert French fries and a cursory salad. It hit the spot – and started a binge for WESTERN food that lasted several days.