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Published: December 15th 2008
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I have had many boat journeys in my time - cruises, rowing boats, cross channel ferries and canoes but nothing prepared me for the numerous forms of water transport we have taken over the last few days. Starting with the 7 hr upriver boat to Nong Kiew. Your remember those miniature wooden chairs you sat on at nursery school and then think of 6'3'' Ziad and seven hrs - quite a journey but it was absolutely worth it for the views. On either side of the Mekong river there are luscious green forests and huge randomly shaped limestone mountains - it is by far the most beautiful country we have visited to date. The other amusing part of all boat trips are the rapids (not only do they determine the direction of the boat, often contrary to the desired direction of travel, but also add to the authentic boating experience by getting the passengers and their contents wet!) - lets just say Health and Safety would have a field day with Laos water transportation!
Nong Kiew was our first real glimpse of rural Laos - no oreo milkshakes and nutella pancakes here! Sleepy village with a few guesthouses (all bamboo
shacks) and places to eat and the most spectacular scenery - perfect for relaxing! Ziad's famous last words when we left the Himalayas "that will be the last cold place until perhaps New Zealand" were proven wrong - excuse my French but it was bloody freezing! Adorned with our woolly hats (think we have a picture somewhere), two jumpers and thick socks we tried to get to sleep fully clothed - even then we were cold!
As ever we did another DIY trek with 2 Aussie girls whom we had met the day before (basically check out all the trekking offices, work out their routes and browse any maps and then head off doing the sameish route but for free!). 3km later following a jungle-like path by the river we arrived in village number 1 (of 3 that day). As ever we engratiated with the local kids playing some throw and catch - that was until Ziad lost their ball up the tree (luckily he has a great aim and a few mins later we released the ball much to our relief..) What an amazing bunch of kids - about 30 in all - showed us around the village
and amused us with their impromptu brake-dancing (I am not kidding two 2 year olds were imitating the professionals in their own Laos style dancing routine), inability to catch a ball and massive smiles. Time and again in Laos, and I am sure this is the same for all of SE Asia, I am amazed by the sense of community and especially how the kids look after each other - 5 year olds are often seen carrying younger siblings on their backs whilst in the UK most parents would fear letting even a 10 year old hold a baby. That afternoon, after a bit of negotiating, we headed off to two further villages further up river. The latter was like entering a cult - 45 mins walk inland and not even accessible by boat, let alone road transportation. Foreign visitors we certainly infrequent, if not unheard of as the kids looked at us all as oddities and were afraid of coming near us and our weird disney stickers - great idea by the Aussie girls who had bought them in Cambodia. Even stranger was the scene we suddenly stumbled upon - imagine a raised bamboo shack with Laos music pulsing
through it and about 30 residents drunk on Lao whiskey and dancing at 3pm - you have a christening party Laos style. We were cordially invited (in fact dragged into) the heaving party and fed drink, had cotton bracelets tied to our wrists and encouraged to join in the dancing - very random!
Next day we took another boat 1 hr further upstream to Muang Neau - we were now in the middle of nowhere (I mean no hot water apart from it being boiled for 18th century style bucket "showers" and no electricity) We ended up staying with a swedish guy and his family - yes I was in charge of finding accommodation this time and will not be allowed again....oops! We ended up sleeping in what can only be described as a dorm style room with paper thin walls, a "bathroom" you had to walk down into in the pitch black (or "the pit" as Ziad called it), a candle for light and the delights of being woken up at 4am by either the roosters or the crying baby - the best concraceptive ever! After two days of walking and attempting fishing, we decided that the lure
of duvets, plasma TVs and decent food were too much and we rushed back to Luang Prabang asap!
We are now in Luang and can not believe it is only 12 days until Xmas. They are making a token effort here with Christmas trees and some decorations but I can not help but feel a bit distanced from Christmas this year. By now I would normally have ploughed through several family-sized packets of mince pies, but they have yet to reach the Laos corner shop hint, hint mum! I am just hoping Father Christmas can find me in Bangkok on the 25th!
Off to Hanoi tomorrow so I suppose I better read up on Vietnam - nothing like the present (at least the key points - name of currency, exchange rate, 1st nights accommodation, nearest ATM and most importantly where I can chill by a pool!)
Laos - hugely reccomend it. Lovely people, amazing scenery and great chicken sandwiches with sweet chili sauce - what else do you need?
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