"Fun" on the Mekong

---

First...note I finally got some photos up, and added them to older posts as well.

Where last I left you, I had just arrived in the small town of Pai. I spent a few days there, and did what most people do there...practically nothing. It is a smaller town and has the vibe of Phish lot (lots of dreadlocks, ganja, and people who've taken months off from the "real world"). Needless to say, I enjoyed my time there. I also saw my first monkey in Pai...though he was being walked on a leash and seemed to be a bit confused (he was attempting to hump a dog).

I needed to leave Thailand, as my 30-days free was coming up, so I started towards Laos. The first day I spent 8 hours on buses, arriving in Chiang Rai. Since I had little time for lunch I bought some pastry at the Ciang Mai bus station. About 2 minutes after eating, I knew I had made a mistake. After an unpleasant "purge" in Chiang Rai I was AOK. The next morning I caught another bus to Chiang Khong, on the Mekong River and border with Laos. I was greeted by a stand at the bus station selling some sort of hacked up animal...turned out to be a giant catfish (I'm talking 8 feet long). I then found a great guesthouse overlooking the river, and met several nice folks to travel on with.

We decided we would take the slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, which takes 2 days. I'd heard mixed reviews from others but did it regardless. The boat was completely full when we got there, but the we were waved on anyhow. All of the seats were full, but there were plenty of bags of rice for us to lounge on. Not the most comfortable 7 hours of my life, but the scenery was beautiful, and I had a good book to read. We arrived in Pak Beng (a town built around accomodating these boats) as dark came on and followed a tout to the guesthouse that they were pitching. When we got there, we were informed all of Pak Beng is full (how convenient...we are dropped off in a town with no accomodation and have absolutely nowhere else to go). I don't think this is unusual because several people offered us one large room with mattresses for the 7 of us (many open air, and it does get quite cold at night this time of year). We finally accepted the upstairs of a family's home for all of us, and it was enclosed. It was cozy to be with 6 people I'd known 1 day (a bit reminiscent of a jr. high sleep-over).

The next day proved much better. We had much more room on the boat, and arrived in Luang Prabang before dark. The trip was worth it, and Luang Prabang was a beautiful town. The French influence is pronounced in food and architecture (I was glad to have fresh baguettes and crepes for a change). The predominate limestone makes for some great topography and waterfalls as well! I'm gettiing a little sick of seeing elephants being offered for rides at most natural attractions. since there is always some chained and lloking stressed. Still not sure the best approach on the issue.

Today we took a bus south to Vang Vieng, and though the ride was long, it was more than worth it. The Karst scenes are amazing we found some great bungalows on the river. The main draw hear is tubing down a river with bars all along the way...that could be fun.

---

Photos

Waterfalls
near Luang Prabang

Mekong from above
Temple on a hill in Luang Prabang