First thing in the morning we exit through Thailand immigration and enter Laos. Ahead is two days on our own slowboat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang — a great chance to gradually get to know the country and to appreciate the ruggedness of this northern part. The slowboat stops at Pakbeng for the night before going on to Luang Prabang. We will go ashore and sleep this night in Pakbeng. Laos is a unique and fascinating country — I will blog later on the country and its many tribes of people.
Climbing onto the boat that will be our home for two days, the first sense is of the sheer luxury of it.
The boat is owned by the family that is crewing it – they live on the boat when they have a trip and have a home on shore when they do not. The captain and his wife are grandparents (although they do not look old enough) and they have their 11-year old grandson on board whose parents assigned him to help on the boat as punishment for stopping in at an Internet cafe and seeing bad stuff online.
Upper Mekong – Out on the river we head downstream. The water level is at is lowest point for the year. There is a strong current rushing between rocky outcroppings that would be underwater in the rainy season, and there are slight rapids every so often. As our captain works his way around obstacles and shoals in the river, small fast boats speed by carrying a half a dozen villagers or tourists wrapped up to withstand the wind and spray and in a rush to get to Luang Prabang. Our slowboat seems much more civilized.
Lunch on the boat is spectacular— son-in-law egg, ginger chicken and vegetables, vegetable and chicken curry (with pumpkin, onion, carrot and potato), stirfry vegetables (bok choy, carrot, snow peas, broccoli. Desert: sticky rice and mango (with sweet coconut milk poured over the sticky rice with roasted yellow beans) — perfectly ripe and juicy mango — and ripe papaya.
Washed down with a large Beerlao.
We watch life along the river’s edge
Small groups of men squat at the river’s edge with stir-fry-size pans — panning for gold. Some dig up the beach sand with the pan and swirl river water in the pan to separate gold flakes.
Long fishing poles stick out from the volcanic rock outcroppings in the middle of the river. Nets are attached to the poles, and twice-a-day, the fisherman climb out on the rocks to check the nets for fish.
Other fisherman throw nets off of longboats in the middle of the river.
Groups of people cluster on the beaches beating handfuls of blueflower stems on the beach to make straw for brooms.
Small houses or little communities of houses hang from the hillsides along the river, with steep paths down to the river’s edge.
Along the way, small clusters of water buffalo collect on the beaches and occasionally dunk themselves in the river.
Occasionally there is a flat awning-covered barge with tables and chairs on deck and is tied to the beach below a small community that appears to be an outdoor restaurant.
All along the river, the terrain is rugged mountains, sometimes in the distance and at other times crowding the river’s edge.
In some places, the broad river narrows between rocks and creates a rapids – and in some rapids our boat picks up speed and is buffeted about as it picks its way through the channel.
As we get further downstream, the current slackens and the pace along the rivers edge slows down in the afternoon heat.
We arrive at Pakbeng and climb the hill to watch the sun set over the Mekong River.
