Houie Xie to Pakbeng to Luang Prabang - hanging out on the slow boat

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Day 41-April 15th: I got up at 7:00ish and ate breakfast at the guesthouse. I walked over to the Thai exit point with my backpack on my back, and caught the ferry across the Mekong to Houie Xie, Laos. I checked in at Thai Customs, switched some money from baht to kip, and then bought a ticket for the slow boat to Luang Prabang. It's a 2-day journey down the river. The boat was scheduled to leave at 10:00 AM, so I was rushed over in a shared taxi to the slow boat pier, which was down the road a bit. I was persuaded to book lodging for Pakbeng, where we will all spend the night. I knew I could find something on my own once I got there, but it just seemed easier to have it taken care of. I bought a seat cushion for the boat and was off down the slope to board the boat. It was mostly full already, but I managed to get a seat. They are actually little benches and supposedly fit 2 people, though I was much more comfortable having one bench to myself - they're very narrow!

We took our leisurely ride down the river from about 10 til about 5 or so. I watched the river and the hills go by, watched fishers and swimmers on the shoreline. At first, the river divides Thailand and Laos. Somewhere along the route, the river leaves the border and it's entirely in Laos. At one point, I looked up from reading to see jungle trees on fire! There were many fire remnants along the shoreline. They are actively cutting and burning the land here, it's quite tragic. I read some and ate some and daydreamed the day away.

There was a small group of people in the back of the boat the whole trip, chatting and drinking beers and having a right good time. In the afternoon, one of the gang - an Aussie woman named Rachel - came over and invited me and those around me to join the party at the back of the boat. I thought it sounded like fun, a diversion from reading and thinking. So I had a beer and soon we docked in Pakbeng for the night.

I found my guesthouse and checked in. The others all went their separate ways to find suitable guesthouses. Once everyone was checked in, it was time for a stroll through town. There's basically one street in Pakbeng, so we all spotted each other again and went for dinner together: me, Libby (American from New York), Alex (Aussie), Nathalie and Chelsea (Americans), and several others. It was a lovely meal and we were treated to a free bottle of Lao whiskey, something akin to moonshine. The guys drank several shots, the rest of us thought one shot was enough!

After dinner, we saw lightning and heard thunder approaching. Soon it was raining. Then it was pouring! We parted company and went back to our guesthouses. Mine was without power due to the storm! (This would turn out to be a regular occurence in my SE Asia journey.) I had lost my flashlight on my trek in Thailand, so I ran across the street to a small shop to buy a flashlight. The guesthouse gave me a candle too, which helped. I wasn't sleepy and it was still early enough that I wanted to stay up longer, so I walked across the street to a restaurant which DID have electricity. I joined the locals who were there watching Thai boxing on TV. A few minutes after I started writing, the electricity went out there too! So I went back across to the guesthouse and read by candlelight and flashlight until I got tired. I slept under the mosquito net with no fan, but thankfully the rain kept it cool enough that I was comfortable enough to sleep.

Day 42-April 16th: I was afraid I'd oversleep, so I asked the staff to wake me up in time to make the boat in the morning. I woke myself up at dawn, so it wasn't a problem after all. I met up with Libby at breakfast and soon we saw everyone else heading for the dock. We made our way onto the boat for another lazy day on the Mekong. To be continued...

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