We left our hotel this morning and headed straight to the market to pick up some donughts for our journey. The bus to Muang Singh was due to leave at 11am and fortunately we were early, as the bus left at 10.45! What we failed to notice was at around 10.30 the locals were boarding the mini bus with their children. Although we had purchased tickets, the bus was rammed and there was only one single seat left, for both of us to share. Thankfully, the journey was only 2 hours.
We are not certain if people from Asia are more prone to travel sickness, but there are always plastic bags available and someone is always sick. Mind you, the road was terrible!
2 hours later we arrived in Muang Singh after travelling through some spectacular scenery. The bus station was less spectacular. Just a large dusty area but in the centre of town
We didn't see anywhere to stay as the bus drove through town, but opposite the bus station there appeared to be a Chinese owned hotel. We are only 10 km from the Chinese border, so it feels a little like China once again. The hotel owner was really friendy, good fun and smiled a lot even though we couldn't really understand each other!
We explored the town and discovered a market. Here we ate lunch and we also found few more guesthouses. There was a trekking company too with bikes for hire and many local shops, selling the usual 'bits and pieces'. We discovered a pretty temple but it was closed.
Everything looked as though it would close when it got dark and the temperature dropped, so we bought our dinner early. A girl at the market let us try the burgers she was selling and they were so good we just had to have some!
We retired to our room early, ready for an early start at the morning market. We watched TV in Chinese and the show seemed to be called Song. 3 judges sat on throne like chairs. A contestant was bought to the stage. The judges view was blocked by screens whilst the contestant sang. If a judge liked what they were hearing, they pulled a lever and their screen disappeard. We assume the contestant then ended up with that judge as a singing coach. Sound vaguely familiar? The judges even seemed to posess the same character traits...
We are not certain if people from Asia are more prone to travel sickness, but there are always plastic bags available and someone is always sick. Mind you, the road was terrible!
2 hours later we arrived in Muang Singh after travelling through some spectacular scenery. The bus station was less spectacular. Just a large dusty area but in the centre of town
We didn't see anywhere to stay as the bus drove through town, but opposite the bus station there appeared to be a Chinese owned hotel. We are only 10 km from the Chinese border, so it feels a little like China once again. The hotel owner was really friendy, good fun and smiled a lot even though we couldn't really understand each other!
We explored the town and discovered a market. Here we ate lunch and we also found few more guesthouses. There was a trekking company too with bikes for hire and many local shops, selling the usual 'bits and pieces'. We discovered a pretty temple but it was closed.
Everything looked as though it would close when it got dark and the temperature dropped, so we bought our dinner early. A girl at the market let us try the burgers she was selling and they were so good we just had to have some!
We retired to our room early, ready for an early start at the morning market. We watched TV in Chinese and the show seemed to be called Song. 3 judges sat on throne like chairs. A contestant was bought to the stage. The judges view was blocked by screens whilst the contestant sang. If a judge liked what they were hearing, they pulled a lever and their screen disappeard. We assume the contestant then ended up with that judge as a singing coach. Sound vaguely familiar? The judges even seemed to posess the same character traits...
