Laos- The start of our travelling

When we first started travelling, Clem's mum was here so we went travelling with her and her partner to Laos. To start with we had to cross the boarder which meant spending money on visa's and re-entry permits but we finally made it to Laos which even though is just across the Mekong river, is a completely different place. When we arrived in Laos, we waiting for Clem's mum to pick us up and while we were waiting a taxi driver came up to us and asked us were we wanted to go. We said no where as we were waiting for someone. He then said something like 100 Baht to where you want to go. We said no again. Instead of giving up though, he then started to lower the price again and again. “80 Baht. 50 Baht 30 Baht!” He just wouldn't take no for an answer. We were then saved though as Clem's mum turned up and we left the boarder and proceeded into Laos. To start with we stayed with one of their family friends who showed us around where he lived in his immense Jeep! After staying there for a couple of days we went on a 10 hour bus journey to the north of Laos to a hotel we had been booked into. The pick up time for the bus was 7am as the bus left at 8am. At 7.30am nothing had come. We guessed that it was just like Thai time so when it eventually turned up filled with other people and their massive bags we weren't that fussed. Now, that bus journey was not the best thing in the world. It was very small and cramped and the journey took us trough the mountains which gave us a stunning view but it was so windy! I guess that if it was a straight road it would have taken half the time if not less to get to our destination. We finally arrived and left the bus to a guest house where we were staying the night. That evening we went to the local night market which was stunning. Some of the things they sold were completely different to Thailand. The main weird thing though was getting used to the money. In Thailand they use Baht which is around 50 Baht to £1. The currency in Laos is called Kip. I got a bit of a shock when I arrived to find that a things were costing 50,000 and 20,000 kip but I then found out that it was 1,000 to 4 Baht which make it........... 12,500 kip to £1 (I think). I spent all my time changing kip into Baht which I believed has helped my mental math quite well. As well as using this currency, they also accept Baht and Dollars! You could pay for some thing in 3 different currencies or pay in two different currencies, and then get your change back in something completely different. Well there we have it, my first experience in Laos.