The Mekong
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007What an amazing river.
I started on Tuesday morning. May 1st 2007, my final day after 2 months in Thailand. I was picked up by mini-bus from my hotel at 9:30am and we headed north to the border town of Chang Kong in Thailand. After everyone else on the bus got their visa paperwork taken care of we crossed into Laos. Unfortunately, my planning ahead didn’t pay off because I paid about $20 more for my 30 day visa and everyone that waited to get it on arrival actually got a full 30 days for the same price as a 15 day visa. Oh well, it was peace of mind for me.
We stayed over night in Huay Xai on the Laos side of the border. It was a quiet town with very little to do. I had met with a couple of older Americans from Seattle. Frank and Janice. They are sailing around the world right now and have been at it for 4 years. They docked in southern Thailand and took a train up to Chiang Mai and are now visiting Laos before eventually making their way back down to their boat and heading off towards India and the finally the Red Sea. Frank has a lot of stories to tell and his experiences are very interesting.
My first taste of Laos was taking a stroll through Huay Xai and noticing the many stores that supply all kinds of alcohol. A few of the bottles looked interesting so I took a closer look. Inside a small 1/5th bottle was a scorpion and in another larger bottle had an actual cobra inside. I assume it is some sort of Laos moonshine. If I thought I could get it through customs I would probably bring some home.
The next morning we boarded a slow boat on the Mekong River at around 11:30am. The boat was packed full of tourists heading towards Luang Prabang like myself. We thought we had gotten there earlier enough but most of the front of the boat was full so we headed towards the back. The first few rows are cushioned seats that looked like they were tore out of the back of a van and the rest are thin benches that lead all the way to the back. They are meant for people to sit 2 on a bench but most people spread out and took a bench for themselves. It is currently low season in South East Asia so we were able to pull it off.
In the back of the boat a group of guys and girls boarded late and came on quite rowdy. Within 30 minutes of leaving the dock whiskey bottles came out and it was apparent the back of the boat was to become a party. The culprits were 2 Canadians, 2 Americans (Philidelphians I might add) and a French guy. They mus have met in Chiang Mai or taken a bus to the border together. It was all fun for awhile but after 6 hours on a boat and the Canadian guy drunk and not shutting up everyone in the vacinity started to get annoyed. The guy would not stop talking the entire time and I don’t think he looked out at the scenery once.
I should talk about the scenery. Not since Rwanda have I seen such stunning landscape. I had heard that Laos boasted good scenery but it wasn’t till we were about 2 hours into the trip that I realized it for myself. The Mekong river doesn’t get overly populated till you get down towards Cambodia so the northern Laos portion is virtually untouched. You can go miles without seeing any signs of civilization only to come across a quaint little village along the banks with children running down to the shore to wave at passing boats.
The first day of the trip took about 7 hours and we eventually stopped in a very small village called Pak Beng. Most passangers on the boat didn’t have any accommodation booked so it was a mad scramble for a bed. A lot of the rooms were nothing more than a bed and a fan. It didn’t really matter whether or not you actually got a fan because at 10pm the electricity was shut off and you were stuck in the dark without running water. I picked out a decent looking spot, took my cold water shower and laid in bed. It was brutal once the fan shut off but I was eventually able to sleep. Pak Beng is the first place I have seen fireflies since we moved from New York in 1991. They were a welcome sight.
The boat left at 9:30am the next morning and we once again were treading down the Mekong River. Again, I was in awe, staring out the side of the boat at the rock formations along the banks, the sand dunes and the lush green jungle that bended with the flow of the brown murky Mekong. The river originates in China but Laos boasts more of its length than any other South East Asian country. It is the lifeline of the people and I look forward to seeing more of it down river.
We arrived in Luang Prabang at around 4:30pm today and everyone went their own ways to find accommodation. I eventually settled on a rather pricey spot but still cheap considering. I wanted air conditioning and a hot shower since the last few nights were a bit difficult to get through. At $15 per night you can’t really go wrong.
One of the most difficult parts of traveling in Laos so far is dealing with the money. There are 3 currencies in wide use here; US dollar, Lao Kip and Thai Baht. I tend to stick with Thai baht since it really is my 2nd currency. I even found myself converting US dollar into Thai baht to make it easier for me. I have just gotten used to pricing things in baht for the time being. I am sure that will go away after a few days back home.
Laos is far from the experience that Thailand was. I have only been in the country for 3 days but the differences are obvious. Laos is quiet. Most people are asleep early and there isn’t much to do after 10pm. It is a communist country so on a few buildings you can actually see the old soviet flag being flown and in all the markets you can buy t-shirts with communist symbols on it. In the streets of Luang Prabang it is a mixture of motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians walking. Spotted throughout the town are the bright orange robes of monks walking to and from the variety of wats or temples that are here.
I haven’t had much time to do anything and I am going to head back to my hotel now and get some rest but there is plenty to do around Luang Prabang so I should have interesting photos and stories over the next week.
Hanging out of the boat on the Mekong River.
Pak Beng. This small village was the halfway overnight stopping point on the way to Luang Prabang.
Classic Mekong River
Joey