Since we struck out in our attempt to catch a river taxi up the Mekong for the three hour trip to Nong Khiew because there weren't enough other people to split the boat fee, Steve and I ended up catching the bus. When we first arrived at the bus station, I was worried that we were going to be cramped on this industrial style transport for three hours.

Our bus turned out to be the pretty standard white box type model in this photo. Luckily we got there early, because the seats filled up really quickly on the bus.

Not sure if they meant to have a James Bond reference on the license plate of the bus. I guess James Bond is Double O Seven, but Triple O Seven in Laos drives a blocky white bus instead of an Aston Martin. Eat our dust, Pierce Brosnan!

Although the seats were spaced really close together inside the bus, it felt like there was at least a little open space near the front.

This fellow seemed pretty interested to see what kind of score Steve was getting on the Travel Yahtzee. So far we've carried that game over three continents, and the competition is fierce to roll the highest score.

We passed over a bridge and caught another glimpse of the Mekong from the window of the speeding bus.

After about an hour or two of driving, our bus stopped at a small restaurant for a pre-arranged rest stop. I think most people were surprised to find this large catfish unceremoniously flopped on the algae covered floor.

I guess if I were going to eat this monster, I'd probably store it somewhere a little bit cleaner, but oh well. We were told that the catfish in the Mekong grow up to nine feet long, so this specimen is just a baby compared to the behemoths that lurk in the muddy depths.

To get some relief from the cloistered innards of the bus, I stuck my head out the window for a little while.

We arrived in Nong Khiew right on time. Some of the other folks who made the trip stepped off with the bus with a "so this is it?" reaction to the rustic surroundings while their bags were stacked for them on the packed yellow colored earth.

Steve travels a lot lighter than that group in the above photo.

They had peppers in Nong Khiew too.

We picked the Sunset Guest House as our place to stay in Nong Khiew. The Sunset is run by a nice family, and although the rooms are small and pretty plain, they are a deal at $2 a night, and the food is excellent.

Speaking of the food, our first stop was the restaurant which is situated on a nice deck overlooking the Nam Ou River. Since we hadn't really eaten anything all day at it was 2 in the afternoon when we arrived, we ordered quickly.

Steve got a huge bowl of noodles that looked really good. I went with ginger chicken, which became one of my favorite dishes while staying at the Sunset.

The main room in the Sunset is filled with these cushions laid out for reading or just relaxing.

The sun sets quickly behind the steep limestone mountains surrounding the Sunset Guest House. It didn't take long for the stars to appear in the darkening night sky above the restaurant.

A copy of Lonely Planet's Laos guide and a cold bottle of beer Lao were perfect for planning the next day.

After planning the next leg of the trip, it was time for some more eats from the Sunset's restaurant. The large bowl is full of chicken curry, and I think there is another bowl of chicken curry in the background too.

The Sunset had an internet connection that some people tried out at night. I attempted to check my e-mail there, but it turned out to be the slowest connection I've ever come across while traveling so I gave up.

Our $2 a night room was comfortable and had a wall of thatched bamboo. The beds were pretty much mattresses on the floor, but comfortable nonetheless. In this photo I'm sporting the Hobbit pants that I picked up at the Luang Prabang night market. The Hobbit pants are quite comfortable, but I've found it hard to wear them outside of Laos because they look a little weird. Photo by Steve Iams.

An early morning view from the window of our room at the Sunset Guest House.

There are only a few rooms at the Sunset, and judging by the spaces between the doors, all the rooms were about the size of ours.

Eating breakfast out on the deck of the restaurant was quite nice because of the towering limestone mountains in the background and the Nam Ou River flowing by in the valley.

This bird of paradise flower was growing right outside the bathroom at the Guesthouse.

The small baby of the owner got a lot of attention from the guests.

In the early morning, fog seemed to collect in the valley between the mountains and hang above the river giving it a spooky look.