Mekong Blues
Greetings from Laos.
I apologize for the lack of entries as of late, but it is hard to work up some motivation here in Laos. Life seems to move very slow here. It also takes a long time to get anywhere in this country.
I’ve been here nearly a week, and I can now see why so many people rave about Laos. The landscape is exotic, the people are really nice, and it is dirt cheap. After crossing the border at Chang Kong, Thailand I took a 2 day boat trip down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang, where I am currently holed up. The Mekong flows fast and thick in these parts, our captain manuvered our vessel with skill past various flotsam and negotiated rapids with ease. The first day on the boat was not very plesant as I was sitting in the very back, next to a sizable diesel engine (I don’t think that mufflers have caught on yet in these parts). Earplugs helped, but after six hours I had had enough. The second day was much better; I secured a better seat and enjoyed the marvelous scenery.
The entire city of Luang Prabang has been designated a World Heritage site by the UN. The city is the spiritual center of Laos, with more Wats than I could count. The architecture of the city was quite nice, but I think I expected a bit more. I was more impressed by the surrounding countryside and mountains. On the first day, I rented a motorbike and headed off to visit one of the area’s two waterfalls. The ride was a bit longer than I expected (1.5 hrs.), and intermittent downpours on gravel roads did not make the journey any easier. The waterfall was impressive, and a swim in the cold river made up for the motorbike ride. A contingent of monks stopped in for a swim as well.
The next day I visited the second, smaller waterfall. While it didn’t have the size of the other one, it was really amazing. Trees were somehow growing out of the waterfall and again a group of young monks came by and played around in the water. The small pools were perfect for swimming – a great time.
The past few days have been real relaxing, not too much going on except eating and socializing. I spent last night playing hackysack with a couple of Isralies (one of them was the same guy from Pai) until about 4 am under the streetlights. Fun times.
I’m heading south to Vang Vieng tomorrow and then on to Vientiane. I did not arrange my visa before getting to the border, so I only have a 15 day visa instead of a 30 day. I either have to extend my visa or else make it over to Vietnam faster than I would probably want to. I’ll sort it out in the next few days.
Cheers,
Neil
Tags: Laos
Neil