Advertisement
Published: November 13th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Sunset on the Mekong
A fisherman collecting his nets before returning home Its only been 28 hours since I boarded the slow boat from Luang Prabang to Huang Xia. Its like the name "slow boat" means we have been captured in this time capsule where time really does go slower. The boat gently moves up the mighty Mekong River as we pass endless green lush forest hills and only every few hours do we signs of human life: A small village hidden in the hillside, a fisherman rowing his long tail boat wearing the characteristic South East Asian "rice pickers hat". Hours pass by. A buffalo sips some water by the water's edge and looks puzzled at our noisy interruption. Its like the Mekong hypnotises us to following its windy paths through the country just like Laos has bedazzled me.
Admittedly I had heard little to nothing about Laos before Sandy mentioned it would be great to visit this country while we were in Thailand anyway. However, I literally only hopped off the tuk tuk on the main street of Luang Prabang before I fell in love with the place. It was like being hit by a spell. The place had a vibe of calmness and content that filled your soul. There
was a tempting smell of fried rice coming from the night markets down the road. People strolled slowly down the street greeting you with a friendly "Saibaidee" as they walked by.A welcoming change from the hundreds of touts that followed us around Bangkok.
Luang Prabang is one of the main towns in Laos, "only" 11 hours drive North of the capital, Vientienne. The beautiful little town combines the best of its French Colonial Heritage with Lao culture. Impressive colonial buildings stand side by side to Buddhist temples and wooden Lao houses. Along the Mekong River busy little restaurants with flashing coloured lights sell traditional Laos dishes like noodles with buffalo and Pae Bang (sea weed) and French dishes like baguettes all accompanied by my all favourite Lao Beer. The main street of Luang Prabang is every night transformed into a night market where the local women sell multi coloured silk scarves, handmade duvet covers, paintings of the tell tale orange monks and the famous bright coloured paper umbrellas. The air is friendly and relaxed, bargaining is soft and friendly, everyone wants a win win. We get beautiful memories of a place where you soul can relax and they get
the kip (Lao currency) they so badly need. In best Buddhist tradition Lao people believe in calmness and peace and quiet. There is no need to rush, here time is a virtue we all admire. There is always time to stop and talk, meditate and drink Lao Lao (a rice alcoholic drink that is not to be recommended!). This is probably why Laos has become a favourite destination for so many backpackers and the like. Away from the bustling cities of Bangkok and Hanoi, off the beaten trail, no street vendors chasing you down the road and no neon signs (yet). Laos is truly a hidden little gem of South East Asia.
As the boat moves slowly up the Mekong and I feel the warm air against my face, I feel both sad, fortunate and excited that I have just begun the last week of my round the world trip. Sad because its coming to an end, fortunate because it has been the most amazing journey of my life and excited because I know new adventures await me. From snow hiking Alaskan glaciers, to climbing Alp d'Huez, from camping in the Serengeti to big city parties, my journey has
been truly varied and in my opinion a good reflection of what life on earth is like.
Our week in Laos was not uneventful itself. Although it started out rather different than expected since we had to cancel our flights to Chiang Mai due to me being quite sick with a bad ear infection. I had already visited three hospitals in Thailand and spent three days in bed when we booked our flights to Luang Prabang. Perhaps it was a case of something good coming out of something bad as we would have not been able to spend so much time in Luang in our original plans. Luckily I got better (after over dosing on codein and antibiotics) just in time for our two day trek. The trek took us across beautiful luscious mountains to visit a couple of small villages. Here they still live in bamboo huts with no electricity nor water. We met a boy who walks six kilometers across mountains each way to get rice and other foods for his family. Our guides on the trip were two really lovely Lao guys who had just finished monk school. As a monk you are not allowed to
touch any woman at all. The only exception is your mother if she is sick. So naturally the guides were pretty excited to be trekking with three western women. Although their English was very good, the slight accent meant quite a few misunderstandings happen along the way. Our names were not Sandy, Sacha and Vicki but Candy, Tassa and Bicki. When we were told to watch out for "rabbits on the libber" it actually meant the "rapids on the river". One of the guides wanted to come visit New Zealand but as he had never been outside his own region let alone Laos he had no concept of geography and hence asked how long it would take to ride his bike there. Naturally, I dont need to mention that we had an awesome time on the trek.
After sleeping in five dollar guest houses for a while, we had splashed out on our accommodation in the bush: A four star resort complete with our own beautiful bungalow with outdoor shower and a big balcony overlooking the river. What a bliss after seven hours of hiking. There is no doubt this body of mine is completely out of shape. Ah,
the joys of being on holiday. The next day we started out with a two hour elephant trek which turned out to be not that ordinary as we all took turns being the mahou (elephant driver). Pretty scary pretending to be in control of such a huge animal. Just as well I have had all that training in Africa!!! In the afternoon we kayaked back to Luang Prabang - a decent four hour kayak which took every last bit of strength I had out of me. As fate has it, I had only just recovered from my ear infection when I got food poisoning the next day. I guess I have been lucky to not having been sick at all on my trip, so I guess a day of food poisoning isnt really that bad. 24h later I was back on top and we spent the next few days visiting the Pak Ou caves (slightly overrated) and the big waterfalls south of Luang (stunning). The morning before we had to leave we got up at 5.30am to witness the locals giving alms to the monks. The monks are not allowed any possessions and only eat twice a day (just imagine),
so every morning they go around town collecting sticky rice and other foods from the locals. This was one of those once in a life time moments which I cant even begin to describe in words. I think its a unique personal experience that is best left as a vivid memory. (hope I am making sense). To witness the complete quietness of a town at dawn with all the locals sitting quietly on the streets with their bamboo baskets of food, to see hundreds of monks walking quietly up the street collecting their alms, that was truly a memorable experience.
So, those were the events that led me to the slow boat which is to take me up the Mekong to the Thai border. A two day boat trip that in essence symbolises everything Laos stands for to me. A country so beautiful and unspoilt where people still value time and a talk to a stranger and where you actually want to slow down to experience the true beauty of this place. Or perhaps it is all because when you take the slow boat you actually have time to see beauty??? At the risk of ending this blog with
Picture Perfect
More hiking snaps a corny statement: If I have learnt anything at all from Laos it is that from now on I am going to take the slow boat (sorry, but I had to say it). I hope if nothing else, the pictures I have taken show just a fraction of the beauty that I have seen. To me, my Laos photos are my most favourite so far. Enjoy.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0814s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Sacha
non-member comment
Wow
Hey Vix What a beautiful story teller and writer you are! It was so good reading your blog and confirming my feelings and thoughts exactly. You summed up our whole experience wonderfully. I am glad you are feeling 100% better and that you both had a nice relaxing time on the slow boat. I have just had dinner and am sipping Jacobs Creek Chardonnay - quietly planning when I will next go back to Luang Prabang. Lots of love Tassa xx