Slow Boat down The Mekong.

The Mekong River stretches 4500 kilometres from China through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam spilling into the South China Sea at the Mekong Delta. Our journey covered a distance of 335 kilometres meandering downstream.

We boarded our long boat in Houi Xai on the Lao side of the river after spending the night in Chiang Khong on the Thai side. The process of crossing the border / river was a series of stops and starts handled entirely by our ‘in the know’ cruise boat operator Mr Adisak. We had concerns about this part of our journey with the high risk of Malaria in the area, local conflict over border issues, what type of a boat we would be on and our safety during the trip down the river.

All our worries turned out to be unjustified as every step of the way was as easy as life on the Mekong.

The boat company we chose was certainly not the most expensive 'Luang Say' nor the cheap and very nasty speed boats. We decided to go on the Nagi of Mekong and we were absolutely delighted with the boat, the scenery, the stopovers and the people who shared our two day cruise.

www.nagiofmekong.com

Gold panning along the Mekong

Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world and has the gentlest and most unhurried people we have met. Their simple way of living highlights how happiness is worth so much more than belongings. Our first day included a stop at a small village perched along the high water bank. (We are travelling in the dry season and the river level is 10 metres lower now) The women, young and old, spend their days panning for specks of gold in the sandy river banks. They never get more than tiny flecks but they will crouch there in the ankle deep water for all the scorching hot hours of the day. The men walk inland to farm for rice and vegetables and the children travel downstream to a small school. Left in the village were the old men with the babies and toddlers. The low level people who live this basic life earn about $2- a day. At each of the little villages we stopped at, the girls had brought small toys, clothes and gifts that they didn’t use or fit anymore. The faces of the children lit up when they were given toy rabbits in baskets from Madison and preloved surf tee-shirts from Charlotte.

At one village the women were selling
hand woven silk scarves,                    

we bought a couple from a girl and stayed to play

hoola hoop with the younger ones.

Paul handed out Chuppa Chups which they were

extremely happy to have but after a few minutes

Charlotte noticed they had no idea what to do

First ever Chuppa Chup

with them.
Paul opened one for a girl and
motioned the licking action.

She was hesitant at first but

it never takes long for that

sweet sugar hit to take

hold and a lovely smile

spread across her face.

Grandpa daycare

Our midway stop at Pak Beng provided simple accommodation and a chance to walk around and enjoy a local meal with our new travelling friends, sharing stories and Beer Lao. We were all up early the next morning and walked up and down the only street in the dark, watching the people prepare for their day. The darkness gave way to a cold mist and we boarded the boat again at 7.30am. The first hour was eerie and cold in the surrounding mist. By 9am the sun broke through and we continued down the mystical Mekong.



We enjoyed a few more village stops and then about 10 kilometres before arriving at Luang Probang we stopped at the Pak Ou Buddha Caves which is a must for all Buddhists visiting Laos. The cave temple has been visited by Buddhist for the last two thousand years and houses a vast number of Buddha statues.

We all had such a wonderful two days on the Mekong. It was a lovely way to travel and every part of the journey was an amazing eye opening adventure. 

Our arrival at Luang Probang

MeanderingLee