Luang Prabang 2

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December 10th 2005

Published: December 10th 2005

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MaryB

Slow boats on the Mekong

Meeting of the Mekong

Have found another place to sit and reflect on the day, and yes once again it is beside the Mekong River very close to where it meets the Nam Khan River. The river itself is made of brown water, with a surface broken by currents and eddies and with breaks created by sandbars or small islands. Anyone familiar with the Burdekin will get the picture.

Alongside this brown expanse are villages with clusters of huts (thatched roofs, seemingly rattan walls) and smoke rising from the clusters. Long boats are tethered at the river's sides, near neat rows of market gardens tended by villages. Women wash clothes in buckets by the river and evidence of their toil lines the fences, gates and trellis work surrounding the little plots of agriculture.

The boats are long, low and fairly flat-bottomed. They have in-board motors and they putt-putt across the river taking boatloads of tourists to villages or caves. Some are more elaborate than others and offer curtains in the window spaces. The seats are small, wooden and rather hard after an hour or two. The more elaborate ones also had life jackets - a noted absence on ours!

Boats convene

(One of the tourists on one of the more elaborate boats was reading Chomsky - Hedgemony or Survival ... not exactly what I have in my bag for light holiday reading!)

One of the villages makes rice whisky - to be precise, sticky rice whisky. This is bottled and offered for sale with a snake or a scorpion preserved in the bottle. As a non-whisky drinker I am wondering if this adds a sting to the effect of the drink, or if it is purely for aesthetic purposes??? See photo. These villages represent the simple life of the people here. The houses are of simple construction, the weaving that is done seems to be possible on fairly primitive looms. And then you scan the landscape to see ... a satellite dish! They love their TV here and especially their soaps!

Watched a lovely group of girls learning to ride a bike - that I must say was probably belonging to one og their mothers. They were all taking turns and trying to pedal half a turn one way, then half a pedal turn the other. Needless to say, many were unsuccessful in achieving sustained motion. However, they were

Approaching village

not deterred by this, nor did any of the falls seem to dampen their enthusiasm as peals of laughter emanated as someone fell or succeeded or some other event occurred. The children here so seem happy and playing freely. There are a lot of them about, many that I see are very grubby - les enfants de la rue?

Back in Luang Prabang, the stores are lit up. Night markets are a hubbub of international travellers bargaining. The somewhat plaintiff calls "Sabaidee ... Madame ... beautiful silk ... madame?" Learning to smile and keep on walking. Beautiful handicrafts reflect hours of painstaking handwork. From applique, to embroidery and weaving this artwork tells the stories of the people here. There is also a different sort of applique that requires the pieces of fabrixc overlaid on the base material to sewed on without seeing any needlework. The hopes and ambitions, the icons of dragons and elemental forces in their life, work together to pass on the way of life. This is their art.

Paper making and paper lanterns are another form of art that is very marketable. Made from wood pulp, and incorporating bamboo leaves or flowers and coloured 'bits',

Telecommunications in the village

they are very pretty. The lights dangle and sway in the breeze casting beautiful coloured hues over the market place. There are always those available in the market for the 'budget traveller' as well as those in the more exclusive boutiques, that will pack and send items to Bangkok for later collection!

No more for a couple of days - on the road again!

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