down the mekong to luang prabang

7th - 9th January 2012

Cruising in a slow boat down the Mekong Rover.

                 

                After a fantastic two weeks spent in the laid back city of Chiang Mai it became apparent that it was time to move on, partly to keep the momentum of the trip going but also because I needed to get out of Thailand as my visa was about to run out. The next leg of my trip has me heading to Laos - the country which occupies the land east of Thailand before reaching Vietnam - and using the ever-helpful 'Little Bird Hostel' I booked a ticket to Luang Prabang; a journey which would be made by way of a two day slow-boat cruise down the mighty Mekong River. This had been one of the things I put on my traveling 'to-do' list before coming away and the experience did not disappoint. Before I go into my time spent floating down this vast river I do just want to briefly touch upon an issue which has presented itself during my time traveling and is getting tougher to deal with every time I encounter it. Now in terms of getting to know more about the world we live in traveling really is a fantastic way to spend your time as the road constantly throws up some amazing experiences and memories which will surely last a lifetime. For me though, the reason these experiences have been so special and memorable is because of the people I have shared them with and having to say goodbye to these inspirational short-term friends is actually far more draining than I could of conceived of.  Loneliness is a risk inevitably attached to solo traveling and the best way to fight it is to obviously put yourself in social positions where you will meet and talk to many people. The great thing about this type of traveling is that you do meet lots of people on the road as it's almost impossible not to but following this constant meeting and greeting comes the unfortunate yet inevitable farewells as everyone is on their own path. Chiang Mai signified the end of my time with a particularly great bunch of people and sitting in the minibus which picked me up from Little Bird on the evening of the 7th, I once again got the familiar sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that rears it's ugly head every time I bid farewell to people I really get on with. This being said, I do secretly like getting back on the road by myself as it makes the future uncertain again as I don't know who i'm going to run into or indeed what lies round the corner...

           The five hour journey to Chiang Khong, which rests on the border with Laos, was once again a roller coaster affair as our driver acted like an absolute maniac; upholding a precedent well established in South East Asia by the numerous other psycho motorists which populate these highways of doom. Overtaking on blind turns and careering on both sides of the road must be maneuvers which are taught to perfection when all Thais (indeed all Indians while we're at it) are learning to pass their driving test - when they actually take a test that is. I can't decide whether it's stupidity or sheer courage which dictates how these lunatics operate but either way it's bloody dangerous.  My coping mechanism for dealing with such death rides is to put my headphones on and close my eyes; thereby drifting off into blissful ignorance of the many near-death experiences I've undoubtedly and unknowingly been involved in. Arriving in Chiang Khong around 3am we spent a few hours in a guesthouse before hopping on the back of a truck to get down to the convoluted and highly manic Thai-Laos border crossing. Along with some new Kiwi friends that I had befriended on the mini bus to Chiang Khong, we fought our way into the royal rumble which had been established at the immigration booths, emerging victorious an hour later with the all important visa stamped to our passports. Once a few snacks and beers had been purchased for the trip we hauled ourselves and our bags onto one of the slowboats and set off down the Mekong river reaching Luang Prabanag two days later after a brief overnight stop in the rural and extremely quiet town of Pakbeng. The following photographs will tell the story of my time spent on the mighty Mekong....

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Arriving at the border crossing in Chiang Khong

The little boat icon shows the route I took to Luang Prabang.

After showing our passports at the initial immigration booth we then hopped in a small boat to cross the Mekong river to enter Laos.

The actual border crossing was swamped by a legion of backpackers each trying to thrust their passport and the required $35 dollars through a tiny window to get approval. I just weighed in and emerged victorious about an hour later with the all important visa stamped into my passport.

Before getting on the slow boat we had to stock up on supplies for the two day journey, whilst browsing the shelves I came across this unfortunate little fella.

The slow boats queued up ready to set off on the two day journey down the river.

Inside the slow boat.

The boat ride offered up some amazing views of Northern Laos.

Docking at Pakbeng the setting sun dipped beneath the surrounding hillside in an explosion of colour.

The gang from the boat. Had a few Londoners, the token Aussies who are everywhere and some Americans. First taste of Beer Lao that night and we all heavily indulged into the early hours, a rough second day on the boat followed...

Passing by local villages which live on the banks of this powerful river. The Mekong River is nearly 5,000km long and runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

A slow boat.

Arriving in Luang Prabang after a long day on the river.