Friday and Saturday, December 9th and 10th, we cruised down the Mekong River
We woke up Friday morning at ‘Zero Dark Hundred,’ had the hotel make us ‘breakfast boxes’ and were driven across from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong to board a boat to take us down to Luang Prabang, a two-day cruise.
Mist was still lying on the fields, a pretty sight.
Crossing to Laos
The border crossing from Chiang Khong, Thailand to Huay Xai, Laos is a racket. It used to be easy, they tell me. You caught a ferry in one town, landed on the other side of the river in the other. Now there’s a Friendship Bridge, but you can’t just walk or drive across it, and it’s out of town a ways (can you say ‘taxi commission’?) You have to queue up for a bus. One arrives every 15 minutes or so. You add your luggage to the pile on the curb, hope you get a seat, and hope your luggage arrives with you on the other side. I guess all the fancy on/off ramps to the bridge are for emergency vehicles or just for the big trucks to Kunming.
The Langsay Cruise people met us and helped us with the formalities (‘Give them $70 US for the visas. It’s cheaper than paying in Bhat.’) and had a people-mover waiting for us at the other side. There were only seven people traveling on the boat, and we all happened to arrive at the same time. Nice folks: a couple from near London, a lady from the Lake District, and a couple from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn!
The boat is not fancy, but comfortable and feels warm and cozy to me. I like wood, and there’s a lot of it. For lunch they served us a beef curry and accompaniments. Quite nice. Here is a picture of the boat being unloaded for our stay in Pakbeng.
The river was quite low, with ominous rocks jutting out of the water or out of the sandy banks. Sometimes the boat had to negotiate rapids.
The banks of the river are quite beautiful, with lush tropical foliage. Occasionally we saw people fishing with nets, more often we saw nets strung from long bamboo poles wedged in the rocks.
On the way to Pakbeng we stopped at a tiny village located high on the riverbank. It consisted of wooden houses and rice barns.
There was a central spigot, fed by a pipe from somewhere up higher, and a big concrete catch basin for water. There were kids playing. The only adults were a couple of women caring for infants. Some kids came up to Mary and said ‘Money,’ but our guide told us not to give money. If we wanted to donate something for the upkeep of the town, OK. There was a spot in the center of the village for that.
As we walked back to the boat we met another group of tourists climbing the riverbank.
Pakbeng
Langsay has a lodge about halfway to Luang Prabang, and we stop there at about 4:00 PM. Located high above the river, it offers a beautiful view. It’s all wood. Our cottage had slatted windows, no glass, electricity, an effective mosquito net around the bed, a little hot water for a shower, and a good comforter, which was needed, as it got chilly once sun went down.
The morning of the 10th was chilly. We had to bundle up. Breakfast at the Lodge was interesting: crême caramel and sticky rice (I requested a second serving of the rice), eggs, toast, fruit, etc.
About two hours into the second day we stopped at a second village, where they made and sold silk scarves.
An hour or so later — I suspect to keep us from getting bored — the boat stopped at a ‘Buddha Cave.’
From Mary’s photo, you might think it was attractive.
The river seemed to get gentler as we came closer to Luang Prabang, but even so there were nasty rocks to avoid. We saw a large shipwreck on one clump of rocks.
At Luang Prabang we were met by a guide who had been a teacher, and his English was excellent. For some years he was also a Buddhist monk, and from his delivery, you could well image it.
The Maison Souvannaphoum used to be a prince’s palace, and is now a Banyan Tree hotel. It is very comfortable and quite beautiful.
Luang Prabang’s Night Market was fun. It takes place every night from about 5:00 pm to 10:00, along the main street, which is blocked off for traffic. We walked along it, looking at the local wares, and had a very nice dinner at the Coconut Market restaurant.
A Random Number
No, not a lottery number, just a drawing I had been working on whenever I had a few moments, of a bike repair man sleeping in his roadside shop in Beijing (remember Beijing?)
Next: Lao countryside
