The art of the 'Squat and Drop', and country number 2

The slow boat from the Thai/Laos border to Luang Prabang along the Mekong River takes 2 days, travelling each day for 10 hours with a stopover in Pak Beng for the night, a tiny village whose electricity shuts off at 10pm every day. Not great when the fan as advertised in your room only works when you're not there.

My point however is that unless you have intestines of steel, at some point during those two days you will inevitably need to go. And by that I mean a no. 2. Armed with the loo roll you bought just in case, you make your way to the back of this 60ft long flat boat, find the one toilet unoccupied and walk into a small cupboard. Said cupboard has two places to put your feet and a hole which opens directly onto the river.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of the squat and drop, the first time can be quite daunting. My first time (ah those were the days) was about 2 weeks ago at Bangkok Palace, so to some I could be seen as quite the seasoned squatter. Doing it over open water however is a completely different affair. The rush of the river below, plus the constant rocking just makes your aim go way off. Luckily I did manage to contain any nastiness, but it was touch and go for a few moments. All part of the fun!

We've since been in Luang Prabang for 3 nights (i.e. our Thai adventure is over and we are now in Laos) and have a lot to write about here, however that's for the next post.