2/23 Boat trip up the Mekong

It’s hard to describe what we saw today because it’s so unusual. We were on a boat for almost the whole day – from 8:30 in the morning until around 6:00. In all we traveled 66 miles on the water and it seemed to fly by. We started on the Mekong and then branched off onto the Nong Kiau. The scenery is so pretty and we had 3 breaks off the boat so it really wasn’t a burden at all.

The first stop was after we had to get out of the boat and walk around some really low rapids. The extra weight of the passengers was enough that we couldn’t even push the boat over the rocks like we had done earlier in the day. The river is just about as shallow as could be this time of the year. However, during the rainy season it can be up to 8 meters higher! Lee, the guide thought this would be a good time for a break for lunch. He had brought a picnic lunch along with him on the boat and we sat on a mat and ate Laotian traditional food. Lots of beef, pork and chicken dishes combined with sticky rice and Laotian dipping sauces. Delicious! We even had a fish that Lee called catfish, but we thought was more like perch. 2 nice sized fish barbequed in one piece. You just peel the skin off and eat the meat. We finished the picnic with fresh mango and papaya for dessert. More food than we needed and Lee was apologizing that there was not enough.

We stopped at a Tay village next and went into a household and learned about their daily routines. A lot of really hard manual work in involved from what we saw. All the kids run up to look at us while we are snapping images of them. This seems quite the strange thing to me and something we probably wouldn’t do back home. Imagine inviting 8 total strangers into your home just because the happened to want to know more about how YOU live. The women were very interested in our ages. They also thought that our women were very beautiful and the men not so much! I agree. They did say that I looked quite young and would be able to have another wife if I lived in Laos. It is quite common for men to have several wives and they all live together as a big family. Lee has 3 mothers and about 12 brothers and step-sisters. He says that his father is a very lucky man because he has so many children. In Laos you marry early (13 or 14) and immediately have children – to help with the chores.

We see signs of deforestation here more than around Luang Prabang. Everywhere we went along the river we saw mostly the same things. Right along the water are incredible vegetable gardens. Corn, cabbage, beans all arranged in neat rows. Just behind the gardens are stands of teak trees. They are not very thick in depth but they are everywhere! I would say that we saw teak planted most of the 60 miles we traveled up the river.

The last stop was at a Kehmer village and although the village was only an hour up the river very different. They speak a completely different language than Lao. Lee told us that they have very little contact with white foreigners and really don’t know what to make of us. We walked around and were invited into a home but we moved along pretty quickly. We were in a bit of a rush as darkness was approaching rapidly and we didn’t want to be on the river after it got too dark to see. I asked Lee if these people ever come to Luang Prabang and he said “almost never”. They may go up river to Nong Kiau if they have something to sell but not much further than that. No idea of the scale of the world – their world is their village and not much more.

Finally we had one more hour in the boat arriving at the Nong Kiau River Side Resort. We tried to help with toting our bags up an incredibly steep hill but quickly gave up. The hotel had porters bring them up and they really earned their tip this time! Our room is nice and big and comfy but without the bells and whistles of our last stop. What would you out in the boonies of Laos? The rooms are all separate cabins with electricity, running water, western toilets a huge bed with mosquito netting. Nice dinner for $6 a person – tons of food and off to sleep.



There is limited internet here - I'm sitting in the hotel restaurant right now - won't work in the room. So, I may or may not be able to communicate for a while. But I've been surprised before so as usual stay tuned.