Laos Day 1 - Cruise on the Mekong

Laos Day 1 - Cruise on the Mekong - SEAsia Day 15

This was the earliest morning since the start of our trip to South East Asia. We had to catch a bus at 6 AM and thus were packed the night prior and ready to head out the door by 5:30. The bus would take us to the Laos border where we would meet up with our tour for a two day cruise down the Mekong river on route to Luang Prabang. The border crossing was an interesting affair as we departed Thailand and drove a few minutes to the entry station into Laos. We should have kept US dollars for the entry into Laos as the rates of Thai bahts or their local currency to pay for the entry visa was much higher. Our first shock was the insane numbers of their currency. Currently the US dollar is equivalent to approximately 8000 KIP, where as the Thai Baht is approximately 30 to 1 US dollar. Eventually we boarded another bus to take us to the loading dock to board the boat. The journey would consist of approximately 8 hours per day, with stops each day at a remote village, and the second day featuring a stop at a famous cave that contains many Buddha.

We departed from Houi Xai on time and quickly settled in, knowing we had made a good decision to take the private tour down the river vs the public boat system. Our boat could handle up to 100 passengers at a tight squeeze and likely 40 people comfortably had only 10 tourists and a handful of staff. By the end of our 2 days together we would have 8 more friends. About 20 minutes into the cruise we passed under the friendship bridge that we had driven over only a short time before. With coffee and fruit we settled in and watch the hills, jungle, and villages glide past. Occasional sites of passing boats, waving fishers, and kids playing on the rivers edge made the morning fly by. A nice lunch was served on the boat and early in the afternoon we stopped at our first village.

We hiked up the hillside and were all dripping with sweat when we reached the entrance to the rural village. Lao Kamu is still very much a tribal primitive village. Electricity was only provided two years ago, as well as a fresh water springs tapped by United Nations to help ease the burden on the women in the village. Emotions are very mixed as we walked through the village, smiling and engaging with the locals, but torn about how in some ways we were intruding on their lives in a perverse and zoo like manner. Their simple yet hard working way of life will surely not last more than a couple more generations as children seek a different way of life that us onlookers unintentionally taunt them with. The smiles and interactions with the children were genuine but as we left the village the conversations were quietly about the impact we have by passing through there village with cameras out and jaws at times dropped.

Back on the boat we cooled down with a beer and enjoyed the scenery as we made our way to Pak Bang where we would spend the night. Pak Bang thrives mostly from the boats making this the stopping point for boats destined for Luang Prabang. Restaurants and bars catered to the backpacking crowd offering welcome shots of Banana Whiskey and making sure the beers remained full. Dinner consisted of the Laos specialty Buffalo Laolup, a spiced local dish served with the famous sticky rice. A good chat was had with a lovely couple from England who shared a balcony with us overlooking the river at the hotel. We headed out for a night cap at the Happy Bar next to the hotel and slept pleasantly in our first night without A/C.