Got up fairly early and set off for the boat-station. Here we hopped onto a slowboat, which took us slowly up the river to Pakbeng. Floating slowly upriver means staring out at scenery (mainly trees and bushes with the occasional cow, goat, fisherman and elephant.) Still good fun for the 10 hours it took to get to Pakbeng.
There our bags got dragged off the boat by a friendly local, who offered to carry them to our guesthouse. When I tried tipping him, he reacted offended by the size of the tip and demanded a tip, which was even more than the price of a room for the night. Eventually had to push him out of our bedroom and shut the door on him to get rid of him. Apart from food and a river there's not much to do in Pakbeng. Fortunately sitting in a boat for a whole day makes you sleepy.
