The Plan B Adventure

Alright….so we arrived after quite a first day’s journey in he midpoint city of Pakbeng, Laos. This is the city where we had arranged our lodging with the guy sitting at the desk and we were happy as others with us hadn’t done so. What an entrance!! This town is sustained completely from being the midpoint city on this tourist route. We arrived a good 300 feet below the city and put on our packs and trekked with the others straight up a sand-covered hill. Pakbeng consists of one road, much like Chiang Khong yet the road is 1/8th the size. After getting bombarded by touts (albeit in SE Asia they are very nice) and offers for opium and marijuana we made it to our guesthouse. Ahh….our previously-booked, Lonely Planet-recommended, simple, yet romantic Valentine’s Day getaway……(record scratching) err….wait! Expectations again misguided. The owners were extremely nice and insisted this was “the nicest room in town” (for $5), we appreciate landlords with a sense of humor. Hey….well at least they threw in a few amenties (bug net, and loofah)!!

What can we say at this point the laughing took over and we headed out for some Indian food….we know Indian food in Lao?? Well, it was fabulous. If you ever get the chance to stop over in Pakbeng for the night (let the laughing begin) please take our recommendation and visit Hilur (from Madras) at the best Indian restaurant in town, Salam. Becca headed to bed early (she’s the smart one) and Jeff sat around with Hilur and Andrew, an English travelling companion and closed down the evening with quite a few Beer Lao. UH-OH…..
Woke up in the mornin’ completely rested and extremely ready to experience the 2nd half of our adventure…..or at least Becca did. Jeff proceeded to incur his first Beer Lao hangover which caused him to incur his first head-injury after WHACKING his head on the 5 foot, cement doorframe. UGHHHH!!! Not the way you wanna be feeling when you get on a boat. Well at least today we were going to try the benches instead of the back. It was actually a welcomed change. The scenery was better, the smoking lesser, and we actually got our own seats opposed to being in the back when the locals brought on the dead animals they were going to cook for lunch. The ride felt just as long but good conversations, quite a bit of reading, and all-around better scenery made for what felt like a shorter trip. If only we had those seat cushions.

The entrance into the Luang Prabang area was fantastic. Temples built into riverside caves, breathtaking limestone mountain ranges, and finally, LAND! Yippee! We couldn’t be happier to have arrived in the old, provincial Lao capital at sunset.

As you now have read we’ve arrived in the beautiful Lao city of Luang Prabang. From our brief time here it is a fabulous city with tons of cultural heritage and a well-rounded feel of the Lao slow life. Internet access is a bit dodgy so we will try to keep you informed and upload some pics soon. We thought we’d share some of the experiences we had on our trip overland from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos. We are terming it the “Blind Faith Tour ’06“!!! (something tells us it won’t be the last)

After many a day in the friendly confines of CM Blue House (thanks Jimmy…very nice place) we dragged our weary, recovering bodies onto a minibus for a five-hour “Air-Con” ride to the Thai-Lao border town of Chiang Khong. This is definitely the way to go for this trip. Public bus is a bit sketchy (as we witnessed) since many back roads are used and not all the roads connect leading to many bus changes. Not saying it can’t be done it’s just for a few extra Baht the nine-person mini-bus was a welcomed option. We are beginning to trust and use travel agents more since their options are usually oft-used by other travellers (strength in numbers) and not much more expensive than piecing everything together yourself. This might not be the case in all areas of the world but is true to fact in Southeast Asia.

Our trip thru the travel agent included mini-bus to Chiang Khong, Visa service for Laos, overnight guesthouse in C.K.(dinner and breakfast included), a slowboat service (including box lunch) down the Mekong. All for $35 each. Sounds great doesn’t it??? It was nice (We can’t complain) but as we came to find the definitions of nice sounding amenties and relaxing travel mean different things to the Lao people. We are learning our opinion of fun and comfortable travel are changing…potentially for the better since we still have 7 months left!! Chiang Khong is a tiny, tiny place. It has one major street and a few competing restaurants, both playing the same cable movies on the same TVs, right next to each other (Can you say Competitive Advantage Class?) The view of the Mekong is great!! Chiang Khong has built a riverwalk below the guesthouses and restaurants which is a nice touch. We had fun strolling it in the moonlight while viewing Laos right across the way and Jeff caught a great glimpse of the two cities awakening as he watched the sunrise.

The border crossing process was a bit of a blur and provides the framework for the appropriately named Blind Faith Tour!! Ushered onto a long-tail boat at 8AM, told our passports were waiting across the river, handed our passports and pointed to Customs for a stamp and a grunt from the officer. Hurried up the hill to a guy at a desk in the middle of the street. He arranged our “lodging” for the night at the midpoint city of Pakbeng. Nothing like a little trust!!! Motioned up the hill to a pickup awaiting our arrival that drove us (the opposite way we thought we were to go) to an obscure boat launch toward the north of town. Asked for our passports again and then pushed into a waiting area. It’s quite nice to feel like cattle. We were told our boat left at 10AM then they said 11AM then we were handed our passports and told to board again at 10AM. Hilarious!!!

Ok, now for The Boat….picture walking a thin bamboo plank onto what looks to the uninitiated as a refugee boat. As you walk through wondering where to put down your pack you see the “benches” and I use that term loosely….I realize it’s tough to use the term benches loosely but wait!! After a bit of terse consultation between spouses we decide the “benches” aren’t the best option so we head for the back thinking it might be like that cool “back-back” seat in all the old station wagons. Well maybe not!! Tarps laid across stenchy, loose floorboards….here’s where you will reside for the next 8-10 hours, spooning with 40 other passengers and their stinky feet, cigarettes, and the occassional Lao local complete with produce, Beer Lao, and livestock. (Remember, expect for the cigarette smoke this is a better option than the benches) WELCOME TO THE SLOW BOAT!!! Remind me to hire a Lonely Planet writer to pen creative ads regarding anything grostesque that needs to be spun in a positive light, cause this guy did a great job on this one.

Maybe it’s because we have been down three rivers already but the scenery was just OK. The ride was fun and adventureous though….we saw some elephants, water buffalo, met some great travellers and witnessed some great local life, but we just need to adjust our expectations before the journey and stop relying on the spoken gospel according to Lonely Planet. We were prepared with food, water, etc….but anything for 8 hours unless things are constantly new gets a little stale. Now don’t get us wrong, opposed to traversing the windy Lao roads in a bus, or paying ridiculous amounts to fly we would do this again but change things a bit. #1 on Becca’s list, Butt Donut for sitting (A towel just doesn’t work). #1 on Jeff’s list oxygen mask to avoid engine exhaust and, really, all-around, discourteous European smokers.

Ok, enough moaning. The experience was enriching, conversations scintillating, and as Jeff rationalized on Day One “Any day on this floor seeing the Mekong and travelling thru Laos is better than any day defending client’s investment performance”………..

Stay Tuned for Day Two tomorrow.