On the Mekong from Luang Prabang to Houai Say

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At 7am, the boat 'Pak Ou' cast off from the pier in Luang Prabang and headed upriver on its 330 kilometer journey which would take the next 2 full days, its destination, Houai Say on the Lao side of the river opposite Chiang Khong in Thailand.

There are three popular ways to travel on the Mekong river between Houai Say and Luang Prabang, or vice versa. If you need to do the journey in one day, and you don't fear for your life, you can take the speedboat, also known as the 'jetboat'. These boats look more like a rowing boat with a car engine strapped to the back and propel up to 8 people at incredible speed and deafening noise. Passengers are supposed to don lifejackets and crash helmets, but during Monk's journey, he saw several where the passenegers wore neither. The danger comes from several sources; debris such as tree trunks, hidden rocks, high waves, rapids and whirlpools. The Mekong flows fast and once in the water, even the best swimmer would struggle against the currents. Apparently, the journey, while thrilling, is also exhausting because of the noise and constant bumping. It takes 8 or 9 hours from one town to the other but on arrival, you'd probably need to crash out for most of the next day so nothing much would be gained.

Much better to do things the Lao way, slowly and without rushing, by taking the safer slow-boat. These boats are supposed to carry up to 70 people and take 2 days to do the journey, forcing an overnight stop at the town of Pakbeng midway. There are all sorts of stories about slow-boat overcrowding with tales of passengers being put in the engine room. At Chiang Khong on the Thai side, one of the big sellers in the shops, is a cushion for a more comfortable journey on the hard seats of the slow-boats. When a slow-boat docks at Pakbeng, a mad rush takes place to grab the best available room find for the night.

The third way is to take one of the more luxurious slow-boats run by the Luang Say company. These steel-hulled boats take up to 40 people and have sofas and other comfortable seating on deck. Breakfast, lunch and drinks are served on-board. It was this boat that Monk first booked for him and Irene's trip planned for February 2009, When booking this time, he was tempted to 'rough it' on the normal slow-boat but decided to stick to Irene's original choice. The stopover at Pakbeng, in the Luang Say Lodge, is included in the price. Each room is an individual wooden, Lao-style cabin linked via wooden walkways to the central lodge - comfort combined with tradition. Dinner and breakfast are provided at the lodge. The staff on the boat are excellent and Luang Say also provide a knowledgable local guide for the duration of the journey who is able to give passengers more insight into the sights, people and stops along the way. It's all a bit more expensive, but it does make for an unforgettable experience rather than just a way to get from A to B, or rather, from LP to HS.

The Mekong is a truly magnificent river. It starts high up on the Tibetan plateau and meanders over 4000 kilometers on its way down through China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Even relatively far upstream from Luang Prabang to Houai Say, the river is very wide for most of the journey. It runs so fast. All along the way, peering overboard, one sees whirlpools and 'boiling' water where the river is coursing over the uneven river bed. In places, the whirlpools resemble inverted tornados maybe half a meter deep. Even on the relatively peaceful stretches, one gets the impression that the river is rushing past in its haste to get to the sea.

The surrounding landscape constantly changes and Monk found himself moving from one side of the boat to the other so as not to miss any of the spellbinding scenery. Now, steep-sided sheer rock mountains dropping down into the river. Then, dense green jungle covering the banks. In the upper reaches, wide meadows looking almost like stretches of the Thames were it not for the mountains looming in the distance. Other stetches evoking memories of the Italian lakes. Wonderful fine, golden sand beaches which would grace any Caribbean island. And rocks - all the way along the river - rocks. Not just near the banks but anywhere and everywhere on the river - treacherous for an inexperienced boatman.

From up on the bow of the boat, one sees the turbulence of the river and the obstacles approaching. It is only from this viewpoint that one apperciates the skill of the captain in konwing just where to guide the boat - not always on the seemingly most obvious course. We pass through so many rapids - the captain steering the boat to find the safest way through, sometimes slaloming sideways and appearing to head perilously toward jagged rocks that would certainly cause severe damage even to the Pak Ou's steel hull.

We pass small wooden-housed villages high up on the banks at this time of year which later on will be at the water's edge. The level of the river can vary by up to 8 meters after the rains come. The villagers take advantage of the low river and grow short-season crops such as peanuts on the exposed banks. Children from the villages, shout and wave as Pak Ou passes by while, nearby, herds of buffalo enjoy the grazing by the water's edge. When the river is low, villagers pan for tiny specks of gold washed down from miles upstream and dumped as the river level has fallen.

And all the time, Pak Ou ploughs relentlessly onward to meet her immutable rendezvous at Pakbeng before nightfall turns the river into a no-go zone.

The boat makes 2 stops on the first day, one at its namesake Pak Ou caves, a Buddhist holy shrine, accessible only from the river, where thousands of Buddha statues have been placed over the centuries. The other stop is at Bor, a small riverside village of wooden hits and mud streets. The village was at one time renowned for the making of earthenware jars. These days, it specialies in the filling of them - with locally distilled Laolao rice whisky. Monk sampled the Laolao straight from the spout of the still.

We arrived at Pakbeng around 6pm and by 9:30pm most passengers had retired to their huts leaving Monk as the last, busy writing his blog. It had been a long day and the boat was set to depart at 7am for the next leg of its journey.

The Luangsay Lodge lies 1km outside Pakbeng village in a rural setting. The animal calls during the night made Nellie and Monk feel as though they were back in Nellie's home in the thick of the jungle - an enchanting night.

The journey next day took us through yet more scenic stretches of the river and Pak Ou stopped at a village populated by the Khamu people, one of the many Lao minority groups. This village, like most of the riverside villages we had passed, is totally isolated and accessible only by river. When we arrived, the village was in the middle of a 2-day wedding celebration. The village people were so friendly to Pak Ou's passengers and Monk was invited to join the wedding group for toasts to the bride and groom - Laolao whisky of course. The cynical might suppose that this was all a tourist set-up, but Monk, who is very sensitive to such stunts, was touched by the authenticity of the villagers' welcome - there wasn't even anything there for sale that we vistors could buy.

After another magical day on the river, Pak Ou finally tied up at her berth in Houai Say and we were thrown back into the real word - Lao exit control, longtail boat to ferry us across the river from Laos to Chiang Khong in Thailand and then form-filling and queuing at Thai immigration. Nellie and Monk had made friends during the trip, especially with Brigit, Claudia and Ingrid. We all wished each other goodbye, good luck, and safe travels. They especially said goodbye to Nellie.

Monk and Nellie stayed at the Namkhong Riverside Hotel tonight. It's probably the best hotel in Chiang Khong but not exactly luxurious rooms - still at 1000 baht (about £20) one can't expect The Oriental. If you fetch up in Chiang Khong, Monk recommends it as a reasonable and clean place to stay.

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