My Laotian Vacation

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I have no idea where to start. I have had the best time so far of my entire vacation! I have not had time to keep up journaling OR postcards..oh dear.

To get to Laos, you have to go to Chiang Kong and then take a boat down the Mekong river for 2 days. We spent the first night in a town called Pak Bang. It only has electricity for 4 hours every night! We left on the boat again at 9am the next day and spent another 8 or 9 hours floating down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.
Here's my journal entry trying to describe the scenery:

"This morning we left Chiang Kong to ride a slowboat down the Mekong river for 2 days to get to Luang Prabang. Its a long wooden covered boat going about 10 knots down a river surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. The river carves a valley through rolling green hills covered in wild jungle. A dense fog roles between and breaks off sharp granite/shale like stones that border sand river banks interspersed with sharp drop offs from the edge of the wild. As it turns out, the clouds ahead are rain clouds and they're dropping the 'window coverings', thin blue tarping over the open windows of the boat.

We ride the boat today, nonstop, for 8 hours to Pak Bang, then 12 hours tomorrow to Luang Prabang. There is room for 100 people and we must have 60-80 on here. Everyone is in good spirits and there is a Canadian guy leading a sing along with his guitar. The smell of sweat and hot feet is fairly ripe.

Laos is a beautiful country. The people here are a little more devious than the Thais when it comes to 'selling us down the river'. We were told there was no food on the boat (there is) and no accomodation in Pak Bang (theres lots) unless we purchased it in Huai Xai right away.

...Comparing the forests here to the ones at home is like comparing home grown asparagus to a wild green salad. While the forests of Canada are majestic, dense and hold an air of almost foreboding danger, as if they are frowning at you, they are repetitive and familiar. The forests here are composed of large leafed trees interspersed with fields of long grass and shrubbery so much more exotic - obviously. There is something there that reminds me of compairing pea sprouts to broccoli. So different. Vines entangle the branches of the trees, locked in a struggle that moves too slowly to see. I suppose the major difference is in the variety. This is an untamed jungle that gets its nature from its unpredictability. Unlike the greenery at home, the botanical bounty speaks more with an air of excitement and promise of adventure. Anything could happen beyond the break of the trees. Even the sounds - cicadas and lizards which are louder that bugs. Their cries echoing across the water almost seem to be magnified by the trees, not broken and scattered as you would expect. It is paradoxical - the law of the jungle is as it is because of the fact it blatantly has no law, adheres to no ethic. The unpredictability telling you to predict danger."


I made a crap load of good friends on the boat and since we're all basically doing the same circuit through Laos we've all been sticking together. We spent 3ish nights in Luang Prabang and then we went to Vang Vieng. VV is about as close to paradise as you can get. The river is surrouned by beautiful Karst topography and jungles almost close enough to touch. There are bars lining the sides with lots of swings and one even has a volleyball court! It is easily the best time of my life. This keyboard really sucks so I'm cutting this one short.

On to 4000 Islands!

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Comments

[Cara]

im sooo jealous...sounds soo beautiful