We got up early and headed to the bus station for the 8.30am departure to Udomaxai. The bus was full, but we artfully draped a towel over some seats in order to keep them for ourselves.
The journey was 4 hours and we arrived in Udomaxai just in time for lunch. We grabbed a bowl of noodles at the bus station before boarding the next bus, headed to Muang Khoua. By the time we got on the road I counted 31 people on the bus. There were seats for 21. Bus travel Laos style.....
Muang Khoua is a small town on the bank of the Nam O river. It's the best place to catch a boat North - something that we plan on doing tomorrow......