In Chiang Mai, we decide that a nice way to get to Laos would be to take a slow boat down the Mekong River....an idea full of romance and relaxation. Hmmm, reality is different.

We set off from Chiang Mai, Thailand with a small group of other travellers on a package tour to Luang Prabang, Laos. The package tour would cover a mini bus ride to the border of Thailand and Laos, a short ride across the Mekong and then a two day boat journey down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. One night's stay in Thailand would be included, as well as one dinner, one box lunch and the boat ride all for about 30$ each.

The mini bus ride was uneventful, as was the border crossing, where, for 60 USD cash, we got our Laos visas. This is fairly expensive, given that most nights at a guest house are about 10USD. So, we pay the fees in good old greenbacks, standing in a rain at about 8 AM or so. Then we get a jumbo (not really very jumbo, its a truck, with a run of board along both sides of the bed where we sit on a short bumpy journey through the town to the larger boat which we board for the two day trip.

The larger boat, is not really very large. We wait about two hours, which they use to find more tourists to get on the boat. There are about 65 tourists, 5-8 local folks. They also find locals, some chickens, and later on, a few unhappy pigs to get on the boat with us along the way. On board the boat, after walking a narrow plank with our bags, we all cram on to rows of wooden benches--think Puritian church, circa 1700's. Here is an idea of how it is inside the boat. So, we sit, all day. watching the Mekong go by. We get up to go to the toilet. The toilet is a hole in the floor, in a room about 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet tall. The way you get to the toilet is by crossing over a wood plank streched across the engine of the boat. The engine is a large, straight six cylinder exposed engine. A person sits in the back and occasionally douses it with water from the River. The toilet opens directly to the River. The sound of the engine is deafening. No, its worse.

Eight hours later we arrive at the place we will spend the night. A very small town, one or two streets, with guesthouses right off the road. All streets unpaved. Raining, I run to the guesthouse that got the highest review in the Lonely Planet. Matt, Nick and Louise (a really great English couple we met on the mini bus) wait for the bags at the boat. I manage to get us two rooms. The place fills up in about two minutes. I get flashes of The Amazing Race.

Next day, more of the same, back on the boat, this time, we got smart and sit in the middle of the boat, where you can at least lay out, and get used to the deafening noise since it's closer to the engine. Views of the jungle, an odd elephant on the bank, and a dead cow floating in the brown Mekong are some of the highlights. We read mostly, trade snacks and meet other travellers. About eight hours later, we arrive in Luang Prabang. Louise and I make another run to another guesthouse. The guys wait for our gear. We check in, rooms are well, OK, but not great. Can't figure out why it got good reviews in the Lonely Planet. Turns out, we checked into the wrong place, the guys are waiting at the real guesthouse! Ooops.

Luang Prabang is really beautiful, the whole city is a World Heritage Site. We just putter around for a day, my birthday, and go out to dinner at a French restaurant. The streets are mostly narrow, with some French architecture mixed with temples, stone statues, street vendors. The next day, the town is warming up for the dragon boat races, Bun Awk Phansa.

The four of us set out by jumbo to a local waterfall, which is really moving, because its the rainy season. The waterfall is not as impressive as the tiger living on the grounds in a large enclosure. The tiger was rescued from poachers as a kitten and is now a resident.

The next day. we wake up to a lot of Lao people in the street. A lot of people, more Lao people than we've seen. They are buying stuff, eating from vendors, watching cooking demonstrations.

Matt and I met a few young buddist monks eager to practice English with us as well as looking for a small donation to help with their studies.

We leave Luang Prabang on a long bus ride to Vientainne, about 10 hours total, on Route 13. Route 13 is the main road, but is really somewhat like a forest service road, with tolls. The ten hour ride is on an air con bus, complete with ten hours of thai and lao karaoke videos (loud) and honks of the driver about every ten minutes for a cow to get out of the road. At one point, the bus stalls on a very windy, very steep, section. I don't look back, no guardrails--a small mudslide -one of many - in the road.

We arrive in Vientaine, where we will spend the next couple of days with our first SERVAS host, Pat.

PS: Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes! They were wonderful to see and read. :) I know I won't forget my 35th! (eesh).