Luang Nam Tha

The bus ride to Luang Nam Tha was a bit of a riot.

The first time we tried to get there, we bought a ticket and then sat and waited for the bus to arrive.  It did, 5 hours later with around 70 people in it. We were given the opportunity to sit on a plastic stool for 10 hours. We gracefully declined and then forcefully asked for our money back.

We then spent the next 2 hours searching for the last room in town with the monsoon rain.

The next day was less eventful with buses leaving as planned and stopping in this little town on the way where the kids spend all day hanging empty coke cans into a stream by a length of old cassette tape... and they have so much fun!

Much to our amusement we also found out that after three punctures the bus we had gracefully declined had spent the night in this quiet village after the driver couldn't go on anymore.

A hill tribe women shared out bus.

Luang Nam Tha was surrounded by paddy fields and we made an attempt to cycle around but rapidly retreated to a cafe when the rain set in.

There were plenty of locals tending their paddies

... and collecting these pesky snails. These huge snails destroy their crops unless they pick them all out.  They now eat these pests at the end of the day.

... town was pretty quiet but we did come across this couple of minging birds.

We also met the lovely Jai and Nicki on our bus who joined us in our failed attempts at bike riding and beer drinking.