Slooooow boat to Luang Prabang

We're in Laos. Damn it.

It was hard-won. Not the border crossing. That was fine. Got paddled across the river, submitted papers, stood in a big crowd puzzling how to get them back, got them back, gave money, got papers stamped, and we were through. But then there was the trip to Luang Prabang.



Taking a slow boat down the Mekong sounds impossibly romantic, doesn't it? Unfortunately, I'm finding it impossible to call our experience romantic.

It was more of a two-day college dorm party with a (scantily clad) student body brought together from Europe, North America, and Australia. The beer drinking began upon arrival on the boat and the smoking started shortly thereafter. Phew. Added to this was the fact that the first day, we were a few feet in front of (aft of?) the very loud diesel motor.



Assessments of our numbers varied from 100 to 150 people -- almost all farang, foreigners -- packed cosily two to each seat, with some sprawled across the floor (and many more joining them there as the ride, and party, wore on).

I think the ride was 8 or so hours each day. Chug chug chug, said the engines. Chug chug chug, replied the carousers.

So for those of you who are fed up with all our exotic enjoyment and could enjoy a little schadenfreude, this one was for you.

In an attempt to retrieve myself from total Grinchness here, I will note that there were many good things along the way:

...Craggy green hills rising up from both sides of the river
...Occasional wooden houses on stilts clustered beneath banana palms
...Our pilot's skill in steering us around the rocks that sometimes poked up out of the brown water -- and probably often didn't
...Village children rolling down steep slopes, mock-fighting each other, waving madly at us, and plunging naked into the water

Check out Bruce Lee, second from left


Docking the first night in the village of Pak Beng

Good company, too, actually. On the first day, Marty got to talk to a Lao woman who plied him with treats all afternoon, and on the second day we were far enough from the engine to chat with several interesting folks from New York, London, and Spain.


Marty's new buddy

But we were glad to arrive in Luang Prabang.