The long, slow boat to Laos

With sleep still  in our eyes, we arrived by minibus at the Thai Immigration building after a short drive from Chiang Khong. After being signed out of Thailand for the second time, we boarded the shuttle bus that takes one across the Mekong to the Laotian side, then began the "hurry up and wait" that characterizes much of the travel system throughout South East Asia. We were somewhat anxious about the delay, as we knew there was a departure time for the long boats that would take us down the river, but no one seemed too concerned. When the final load of tourists was marched on to the bus, we crossed the river, switching to the right side of the road as we went, which now feels distinctly strange and somewhat alarming to us all after so many months in ex-British colonies.

At the Laos Immigration building, guides helped us with the paperwork and directed us to where we had to hand in our passports and pay the fees, including the extra dollar per head in consideration of the fact that we were crossing on a weekend (or a holiday, which seems to account for another day every week). Despite the fact that we were some of the first to hand in our passports, we were the last to have them returned. Security is lax, as some clued-out tourist ahead of us actually managed to pick up someone else's passport by mistake, and did not realize the error for about half an hour until he looked at the passport and realized that it had a photo of someone else. An interesting illustration of the fact that to Asians, all farangs look kinda the same.

We did not worry too much about all the delay as our guides stuck with us the whole time, plus nobody seemed to mind our boys playing frisbee inside the building (except Remy, who found such behaviour to be disorderly). 

Indoor frisbee at the Thai/Lao border

After a lengthy tuk tuk ride and some more paperwork, conveniently conducted at a snack shop where sandwiches and water could be purchased (no relation to the guide, I am sure), we arrived at the boat "dock" to begin our river journey.

Again, consistent with travel  around S.E Asia, we were arbitrarily herded onto one of many boats that were loaded with tourists. Boarding meant walking a gangplank from the shore, and maybe having to cross another boat deck or two to where someone was directing you. There apparently was a system, but we were never made privy to it. Groups of young Scandinavian men also fought their way against the flow as they made fervent, last-second beer runs on shore, just in case there wasn't enough on the boat.

On the boat! Seating consisted of old van benches sitting loose on the floor, which presented the potential to have your toes crushed whenever someone tilted the seat back when getting up. Knee space was variable as a result, as well. Some bags went under the deck, while others were stored in a room at the back. The engine room door was kept open, likely for cooling, which made seats at the back of the boat intolerably loud. Conversation at the front was quite pleasant, though.

It was Connor's actual 18th birthdate, and Liz managed to organize a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" among the tourists at the front of the boat. We all settled in, and over all quite a comfortable journey down the Mekong River, despite the fact that it became evident we were on the slowest boat of the lot. There was one tsunami that swamped the people on the right when our pilot failed to anticipate the size of the wake created by an upstream barge, but we were luckily far enough up to avoid that particular swamping.

A typical small river boat hauled out for maintenance.

A cross-river ferry loaded up with heavy equipment. Can you see them?

One of the many Mekong river boats like the one we travelled in.

Some of the locals with a load of river weed for drying. In the background are some of the stunning stone river banks that characterize much of this section of the Mekong.

Oxen need vacations as well! The sand bars show how high the water rises during the rainy season - hard for us to imagine right now. Parts of the river upstream from us actually become impassable when the water level falls during the dry season.

A small river weed and fishing village along the way.

River boat parking in Pakbeng. The "dock", we would learn, is quite typical. A rickety gang plank to a set of jagged rocks, and finally a set of steep, irregular concrete steps. What else can you do, though, when the river varies so wildly in depth and flow rate throughout the year?

 We arrived close to sunset at our overnight destination, Pakbeng. There was a frenzy as the boats unloaded and everyone scrambled up the steep, jagged, rocky riverbank to find a room for the night. We managed to find rooms for our two families in a newly built guest house - so newly built that there was still a thick film of construction dust on every surface and the mattresses were still in plastic (which did not stop the staff from making the beds right over top). Once we had removed the plastic (done partially in the dark, as the power kept going out), we all donned our head lamps and headed out on the street (there is only one) to find dinner. At our restaurant of choice, Ted loudly pronounced the fact of Connor's birthday again to everyone in the establishment, and once again (to his intense embarrassment) the guest of honour received another rousing rendition of the birthday song. The other highlight of the evening was when Bowen became trapped in the downstairs bathroom of the restaurant with no toilet paper, and could not get the attention of anyone in our party even though he could see us all through cracks in the ceiling.

Sharing the birthday cupcakes! It  is interesting how universal the Birthday Song is around the world.

Breakfast in Pakbeng. This is the view we missed the night before.

The treacherous descent to the boat for Day #2 of the river trip.

 The second day of the boat trip began in what we now recognize as the usual state of semi-organized confusion. All we had been told was to be at the boat at 8:30 AM. It was  little unsettling to see other boats leaving prior to this, not to mention the fact that the boat we had arrived on was already gone, but we were herded on to another boat with some of the same people as the day before and got under way. Again, it was unsettling to head upriver at first, but luckily Remy had noticed other boats doing this in order to turn around so the freaking out was kept to a minimum. As well, we were able to arrange two rows of seating facing each other, away from the engine compartment, so the two families could sit together. And best of all, the drunken idiot Frenchman from yesterday was on another boat!

Tina and Connor cruisin' the Mekong.

A cave with Buddha statues. We did not go in, though - this was one of multiple beer stops that our boat had to make to keep a group of Vikings that shared our boat well-supplied and happy.

Karsts along the river. The valley opened up the further south we travelled, and other rivers joined the Mekong.

Tourists being dumped unceremoniously off the boat to the "new" dock, which is about 10km out of Luang Prabang. The boat operators are in cahoots with the tuk tuk operators, and dropping tourists this far out of town forces them to pay the extra couple of bucks for a ride into town. We had read up and anticipated this so there were no problems, but other boats have mutinied and refused to get off their craft, resulting in standoffs with the captains. The tourists have never won this battle, though. 

 We found ourselves a nice guest house situated near a river and down a small alleyway. The only source of noise was the Canadian-owned and very popular bar at the end of the lane, but happily for us, Laotian law requires that everyone be back in their beds by midnight (known as a curfew in our part of the world) so the racket stopped at 11:30 PM. The monastery and temple at the other end of the lane, however, had no compunction against banging an enormous drum and chanting at 4:00 AM every day.

We all fell in love with Luang Prabang. The night market was incredible, and the food was delicious and cheap. The boys ate many baguette sandwiches and smoothies, and we found a great breakfast place. The architecture is beautiful and the people wonderful. The Buddhist influence is prevalent, but the morning alms-giving has been tainted somewhat by the carnival atmosphere that the tourist companies have created, compounded by the ignorance of a portion of the tourist crowd. Still, it is beautiful to behold.

With Don and Larry, from Castlegar, BC. The joie de vivre of these two older travellers was a great inspiration to our boys, and Hollis was able to share his Kootenay stories with them. Imagine our surprise to find our boys "hanging out" with these two old guys as we exited the market. 

A very cute temple puppy that we named Watson- get it? Wat   Son! We made numerous trips there for the boys to visit the dog and Liz to visit the washroom. Travel tip - most temples have fairly nice washroom, generally for free!

The temple and monastery at the end of our lane. A very peaceful place to walk through on our way into town.

 All of the boys, Ted included, signed up for a knife-making class through and organization called Backstreet Academy, which connects tourists with local artists and craftsmen for authentic, hands-on experiences. We all rode to a village on the outskirts of LP to the yard of the blacksmith. Beginning with old automotive leaf springs, we assisted the blacksmith in creating typical Hmong knives (more like small machetes) which we got to keep at the end. It was amazing to see how efficiently he could create tools using such primitive technology. We were treated to a snack and ice tea as well, and Remy and Connor scored a huge bag of the dried river weed from the house across the street from the blacksmith.

The end of the line - arriving at the small village where our blacksmith plies his trade.

The anvil, made from an old rail axle, and plunge bucket with forge just behind.

Cutting a segment to begin the knife. Note the highly unsafe footwear in the background.

Connor getting that "chain gang" feeling.

The blacksmith's assistant. Don't judge him by his footwear - that boy could swing a hammer!

It takes teamwork! We were all part of a well-oiled and sweaty machine by the end.

Still life with knife.

A rack of river weed being prepared for drying.

The top racks have been baked with garlic and tomatoes - very tasty! We learned the hard way that the bags of the erie product have to be prepared further, by frying, which makes the river weed crispy and oily and extremely delicious. Our guest house owner did the frying for us, free of charge. Remy and Connor reeked of garlic for a week.

A gang of desperadoes, blades glinting  in the sunlight...

One of the many beautiful temples in LP. Love that roof style!

We gained merit by paying the ransom for these poor little birds. We wonder what it does for the people we payed? We hope that none of these birds gets caught more than once.

The view of town and the river beyond from the top of Mount Phousi, which dominates the whole city.

Mmmm, grilled pork guts! Just some of the wide variety of food available on the street.

This is how the other half lives. Or at least, the other half who liven the far bank across from town. Life is still pretty rough in rural Laos.

We picked up some books to give away to kids. Books printed in Laos are relatively rare, so books are treasured by kids as they learn to read. The older boy promised to read to his younger brothers.

Our long boat ferry across the river. 5,000 kip or $ .77cents/person

The river bank across from our guest house. Every cultivable inch is terraced and planted.

Mmmmmm coconut cakes left to dry in the sun right over the open sewer.

The confluence of the two rivers that flow through Luang Prabang, the Nam Khan in the foreground and the Mekong beyond. It cost about 50 cents to cross the rickety bamboo bridge, with the money going to the family that builds and maintains it through every dry season. This river arrangement is kinda like the one in Inglewood, where we live in Calgary. No wonder we like it here so much.

To go to Luang Prabang is to step back in time. Looks like ZZ Top may be in town.

Watching the sun set from the banks of the Mekong. The French baking is very good here, and a small shot of rum improves the smoothies immeasurably.

We had another go at the tabletop BBQ after become expert at it in Thailand. This one was not as good as the first.

There is a lot of unexploded ordnance still in Laos, courtesy of the USA. If you are lucky, most of what you will see will have been turned into a planter.

6:30 am-Monks filing past the temple on the round of alms giving. Most of these young fellows will do this for a couple of years and then return to the laity. 

There are many monks in Luang Prabang and this is one of the most photographed scenes in all the land.

Helping a deliveryman load his moto at the bakery as the alms giving winds down.

Eureka! We found whole grain baguettes! Breakfast is saved!

Some more "found object" art.

Braving the bamboo bridge.

A game of frisbee broke out with these young fellows who were playing in the river. They went from never having seen one to being quite good at throwing a frisbee in a very short while.

Loafing round Luang Prabang. At least, it was good for a loaf for the guy that took this photo for us.

 Another day trip was arranged by us to visit the Kuang Si Falls. We stopped along the way to visit a Hmong village, which turned out to be a bit depressing as the very young children are all dressed up in traditional garb to hawk the woven goods that everyone produces. It looked to be a hard existence. The falls themselves were a real treat, with an interesting and well-run sun bear rescue centre just outside the falls. The falls themselves were otherworldly, as the water is coloured green due to the high levels of copper in the soil and the silt in the water encrusts everything with a hard mineral shell that turns deadfall logs and other items into alien shapes. The water was a bit on the cool side, but there were numerous pools and things to jump from into the pools. We hiked up to the top of the falls, which was a bit of work, but the cool forest glades with channels of water running through to the edge were magical. On the way back, we stopped at a butterfly sanctuary where we saw many beautiful things and Ted could dust off his biology degree.

An enviable vegetable garden on the way to the Kuang Si waterfalls.

Mom is against animal testing, but has no qualms about child labour. Another stop at a Hmong village en route to the falls.

A young fellow, watching the world go by on the road outside his house.

Dressed up and ready to sell.

The falls at Kuang Si. The water is reeeeally cold.

One of the inmates at the Dutch-run butterfly farm just outside the falls.

One of the many dogs that Connor named and befriended outside our guest house. This was Zealot and Concrete can be seen in the background.

Some of the best pho that we have had! We were repeat customers at this little street side stall.

In all, the river trip and Luang Prabang will be a special time during our trip. We are glad that we got to see it when we did, and we had some unique adventures. But Vietnam beckons and we are ready to move on.

~Remy