bit of a disaster... but a bit of Laos!

My plan was to get the 24hr train from Kunming to Guangzhou, where I had booked a cheap flight from there to Bangkok. All was fine, I boarded the train and put my bags in the cabin (where a guy was smoking on his bed- not good for my lungs!). About 10min before the train was going to leave, I a had arandom thought that I should check my plane ticket once more, even though I had looked at it loads of times already... I must have known deep down, because I had booked the flight for 2nd Dec, not 2nd Nov! I had to quickly get my stuff together and run off the train, before I ended up 24hrs in the wrong direction! I was able to explain to an English speaking guard, and get most of my money back off the ticket. So, I went back to the booking office & had a think, and decided the cheapest way to get to Thailand was to get buses through Laos. Luckily, I was able to get a ticket for one heading to the border that afternoon. I had a very rushed arvo- cancelling flight, getting passport photos for a visa, etc, so was a relief to get on the sleeper bus. It consisted of VERY short bunks (made for Chinese height). There was a Russian guy, Roman, in the bed next to me, so got talking to him. He had hitch hiked from Russia, through Central Asia, and was heading to Bangkok. Probably not the safest idea to join him on his path! The bus ride was smooth, until we stopped for 2hrs at the station at about 4am. It meant I could get some sleep in though! We then had to change onto a minibus, as we headed through very tropical vegetation. The windy roads didn't agree with 2 Chinese women who got car sick (one out the window, one in a plastic bag). A Chinese guy stopped the minibus and tried to get our driver to take a small box across the border for him, but the driver didn't want a part of it! (Drug deal, anybody?) Roman & I met with a Japanese girl, Mika, who was also heading to Bangkok. We finally reached the last Chinese town of Mengla, and had one last Chinese meal. The 3 of us began walking the 2km to the Laos border (we didn't want to pay for an overpriced tuk tuk), but luckily a truck stopped for us & we climbed in the back. At the Laos border town of Boten, I payed for my visa with no trouble (just lousy exchange rates), then we got a taxi truck to the nearest big town, Luang Nam Tha. It was really beautiful being back in Laos- everything is so green & lush! We passed lots of tiney villages & lots of children. Once in the town, we checked into a basic guesthouse, and I actually ran into Helena, from my China group! I knew she was in Laos, but didn't expect to see her! Had dinner at the food market, then met with Helena for a drink afterwards.