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Published: December 15th 2005
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An Overfilled Boat!
The slow boat before negotiations were made for a second boat. A Week In Laos (31st Oct-7th Nov 2005)
Chiang Khong
Chiang Khong is the border crossing we used between Northern Thailand and Laos. Got a bus/minivan to the border from Chiang Mai. Buses won't leave Chiang Mai until lunchtime and you get to the border at 6.30pm. The border closes at 6pm! How convenient! We could only see the lights of Laos across the water and would cross the border in the morning.
Slow Boat (2 days on the Mekong River)
Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang
We chose the 2 day, slow boat option along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. The safety record was apparently better than taking a fast boat which got you there in 6-7 hours. After seeing a dead body in the river on the second day I think there was a high probability that this person came flying out of one of the fast boats. The fast boats are long boats (a bit like a drag boat) and the whole front of the boat sits high out of the water when it moves. Passengers wear life vests and motorcyle helmets and hold on very tight. There are just so many rocks, floating
logs and other debris in the water that I don't know how the drivers ever see them all in time.
Lao people certainly know how to fill a boat with people. Our rickety wooden boat filled up very quickly with 2 people to a narrow wooden bench seat on either side of the boat. We all thought we'd be heading off but then some plastic garden chairs were spread out at the back of the boat behind where the bench seats finished. When these seats were taken we thought that surely we'd be leaving now but then some small wooden kindergarten sized chairs were put down the isle of the boat between the bench seats! No one would be able to move anywhere and no one would be able to get the toilet! Instead of having 50-60 people on the boat (a safe number) we now had closer to 110 people. When the wooden chairs were put down the isle a guy from Sydney spoke on behalf of everyone on the boat and said "No, No, no more people on the boat!" Then he got off the boat along with about another 10 people and they negotiated with the
Kuang Si Falls
Kuang Si Falls - Luang Prabang. Great swimming spot. Lao people for a second boat. After much heated discussion the tourists won! I think the argument that won it was when the guy from Sydney said that this was bad for Laos, it was not safe to have this many people on the boat and he would write to Lonely Planet and tell them!
Thoroughly enjoyed the boat trip. The scenery was fantastic with lots of thick green jungle, villages dotted along the banks, lots of banana palms, locals fishing and buffalos wading.
The boat driver did stop once as some of the boys had consumed a little too much Beer Lao and Whisky Lao and would not come down from the roof of the boat. The boat was definitely a lot more unstable on the water with all of them on the roof and these boats can tip over. The trip continued when all the boys came down.
Stayed overnight in Pak Beng right on the river before boarding the boat again the next morning. Not so much Beer Lao and Whisky Lao was consumed by the boys on the second day!
Luang Prabang
In Luang Prabang we enjoyed a trip (by boat)
Boat Trip to Nong Khiaw
Scenic toilet stop on the way to Nong Khiaw. out to the Pak Ou caves. The caves were filled with lots of buddhas that had been brought there by locals. On the way to the caves we stopped at a village where Whisky Lao is made. They sell bottles and bottles of it however the bottles all have some sort of creature in them such as a snake or a scorpian or a big spider.
Also visited Kuang Si Falls - beatiful falls with turquoise green swimming pools below.
Sampled some real Lao food including fried weeds! Of course we also had to sample Beer Lao and Whisky Lao which the Lao people are very proud of.
Nong Khiaw
Took another boat trip (only 6 hours this time!) to Nong Khiaw. Only a section of it was on the Mekong and then we veered on to the Nam Ou River. Yet again the people of Lao tried to squeeze as many people on to the boat as possible. This time it was some girls from Holland that objected and we got a second boat. The scenery was fantastic with limestone cliffs, lots of buffalo, many locals fishing and lots of kids very excited on the
Local Fisherman
A frequent site along the river were locals fishing. river banks to see us. There was certainly some very difficult steering involved for the driver as he had to take us upstream and up several rapids. We only got really wet once.
Stayed overnight in Nong Khiaw at Bamboo Paradise Guesthouse. Slept in a little bamboo hut. A little noisy during the night with some little creatures running around (I was hoping they were not in the hut!). Next morning I discovered that a little creature (probably a rat) had made its way in to the front of my pack and eaten a big hole through the plastic of my tube of vegemite! Luckily we are not short of vegemite between us thanks to a few farewell gifts!
Hired a bike and rode out to the Tham Pha Tok caves, once a hideout for villagers during the 2nd Indochina War. 3 Lao children decided to guide me through the caves. This was a good thing because they had a candle and they pulled all the leeches off my legs and feet. One of the pedals on my bike fell off on the way back making it extremely difficult to ride. Quality bike! I was asked to pay
Limestone Cliffs
Boat trip to Nong Khiaw. extra when I returned the bike because the pedal had come off! I don't think so!
An interesting jeep come tuk tuk ride back to Luang Prabang. The vehicle was overloaded with both people and luggage for a 3 hour trip. I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here!
Vang Vieng
Got an overnight bus to Vang Vieng from Luang Prabang. Wasn't really an overnight bus as it got in at 2am!
Kayaking/caving/tubing trip - Sat in a tyre tube while making our way through a cave. Enjoyed some leisurely kayaking down the river. Unfortunately I'm no longer well conditioned for the Murray as I had a very sore bottom the next day!
The flying wall fan - at 4.30am during our last night in Vang Vieng it sounded as if a machine gun was going off. Some how the front of the wall fan had come off and the fan itself got sliced in to pieces some of which hit us. The fan had also come extremely loose from the wall and was jumping up and down! When our hearts stopped racing we did go back to sleep without the fan.
Tubing
- hired a tyre tube and floated down the river for 2 hours, stopping now and then to enjoy a rope swing or a flying fox that the locals had built. A few very small rapids. Lots of offers of Beer Lao along the river.
Vientane (capital city of Laos)
Transitted through here enroute to Bankok. Crossed the Laos border and got an overnight sleeper train from Nong Khai to Bankok.
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