Day 46 - Last Day in Chiang Mai and Flight to Luang Prabang, Laos

I checked out of my guesthouse today and had my last meal of pancakes with honey on them. So sad :( I took a tuk-tuk for 100B to the airport and arrived in Luang Prabang at 4pm. The flight only took an hour and Laos Airline provides you with some food for the trip. I was quite surprised with the mini chicken sandwich, 2 pieces of fruit and a muffin. Upon arrival, I got my visa for Laos. Of all countries, Canadians have to pay the most. $42 USD for a 30 day visa plus $1 surcharge for flying in on a weekend. Every other country pays either $30-35 USD. I took a airport taxi from to the center of the city for $6 USD. Really expensive! This country used 3 currencies, the Laos Kip, Thai Baht and US dollars. Its very strange. I can see this country being quite expensive.

When I got out of the taxi I met some really nice girls from Isreal that showed me where they stayed. I ended up booking a room at the same place. A little place called Nocknoy that has only 5 rooms with kingsized beds for 40000 kip ($5)a night. The place is honestly a dump but its clean. The bathrooms are weird though. The sinks drain directly onto the floor and into the floor drain. There are geckos everywhere which is a good sign because that means there's no mosquitoes.

My first stop was the night market. This place is nuts. The market goes on forever. The things here are very expensive though. Much more expensive than Thailand. I think it may be because this city is full of tourists. Not very many locals around at all so they charge the high prices because people will pay it. I'll probably spend a few days here then to Vientiane and fly to Hanoi.