The Mighty Mekong


Advertisement
Thailand's flag
Asia » Thailand » Northern Thailand » Chiang Khong
May 22nd 2011
Published: June 21st 2011
Edit Blog Post

Total Distance: 0 miles / 0 kmMouse: 0,0


My visa exemption had come to an end so I made for the Thai-Lao border. I decided to use my full time in Thailand and spend the night in the sleepy town of Chiang Khong. I was not to do much apart from recharge my batteries and what a place to do it. My guest house lay beside the fast flowing Mekong with scenic land of Laos on the other side. As the Sun lowered, I indulged in a couple of glass-bottled Cokes and the best book I have ever read, Norweigen Wood by Haruki Marukami. Local fisherman hauled in the catches in apparent silence, shadows grew longer and eventually the off-key Karaoke was in full swing across the water. Fireflies even joined the party, one by one, blinking in a hypnotizing fashion on the riverbank. What a way to conclude my visit to such a diverse and wonderful country.

In the morning I crossed the border. This was no ordinary border. There was no bridge and the river had to be crossed by boat. Strange to ride a boat that did not belong to any country. Now in Laos, I needed some money so I walked to the nearest
Sunken FishermanSunken FishermanSunken Fisherman

Check out the bump on his forehead! Absolutely huge
ATM. I only took out the equivalent of seventy five pounds and was now a millionaire in the Lao currency, Kip.

I boarded a slowboat that would take to days to reach my destination of Luang Prabang. There were approximately fifty passengers with only three having darker skin: two Lao girls and myself. I took my pew next to a Scottish couple. Neil and Elaine were from a village in the northernmost regions of Scotland. We could not be from more different places in the UK but we seemed to have many things in common such as a love of "The Office". We spent much of the journey quoting and reenacting scenes. I was incredibly lucky because there were many irritating characters on board, including a stereotypical loud mouth from Las Vegas and typical "Gap Yah" kids who would not stop playing some bongos that gave out only one tone.

Halfway through the first day, major drama. Our boat had ploughed straight through a village fisherman's canoe. The man had an unbelievably huge bump on is head and he was lucky to still be conscious. To add to mess that had been created, the man could not swim. Just in time we picked him up and helped him to the bank. The village children had been playing in the river wearing literally nothing. The last thing they expected was to have a boat full of westerners pull up and see them fully uncovered. When they realised they were on show, the boys covered their lower parts but still did not run away. They had never been in contact with westerners before. They could not tear themselves away. Eventually, the whole village came to watch. The man should have gone to hospital, however he was just led back to the village. It would be no shock to me if he had a very serious concussion. We had to make up time so carried on down the river as if nothing happened. A totally surreal experience.

The whole day the hotshot from Las Vegas was trying incredibly hard to woo the attractive local girl on board. She spoke no a word of English and just looked embarrassed at the whole situation. At one point he even reached in for the kiss and she turned away. He had no shame and many of our fellow tourists felt sorry for her. Before out midway point was reached, she hopped off at her village to leave Casanova on his lonesome. Quiet high fives were distributed out for all who realised the situation.

We stopped off after the first day in the small town of Pak Beng. Two Americans stayed in the same guest house as myself. The first thing one of them said was, "He is what gives us Americans a bad name!" I liked them already. It was a nice place to stop and I played my guest house owner at pool. He was terrible and I battered him, although he just seemed to want to play more. I won ten to nil. The night concluded with a few bottles of BeerLao with the gorgeous local bar girl called Nina, and watched our boat party boys let loose before a good nights rest.

An early rise started the next day. The boys, from the night before, should have been knackered. No such thing. One exclaimed, "DAY TWO ON THE SLOWBOAT. WOOOO!" Neil, Elaine and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Also, the boat was not so slow. The current was so strong we travelled at a fair speed. Stunning scenery was whizzing passed our eyes. Mountains rose, trees burned due to farming and rocks protruded from the riverbed. The boat did not simply follow the rivers path. We went from one bank to the other, often at right angles to the natural flow. We even navigated through some ominous rapids. Our captain made it look easy but it did not feel easy. There were no boats sunk on the second day and was relatively peaceful until we reached the historical French colony of Luang Prabang. I can now say I have taken a two day boat trip down the Mighty Mekong River. What a journey!










Additional photos below
Photos: 33, Displayed: 25


Advertisement

Guest House Restaurant ViewGuest House Restaurant View
Guest House Restaurant View

Over the Mekong to Laos
Hill PathHill Path
Hill Path

The dots you can see are people walking down to their house
Hill Path 2Hill Path 2
Hill Path 2

This picture shows the incredibly steep gradient the locals have to navigate to get home


Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 54; dbt: 0.0582s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb