Cruising the Mekong

The 6 hour bus ride to Chiang Kong on the eastern border of Thailand was uneventful. I finished reading my first book: The Kite Runner which was absolutely superb. The best I've read in a long time.

The border crossing was easy too but we had to slip the immigration officers 20 baht to work overtime as it was past 5pm! A quick ferry ride across the Mekong River and we were in Huay Xia, Laos.

We were up early to make sure we got our boat tickets. Despite being told to meet at 8.30am at a certain guesthouse we didn't leave until 11. The Laos people are very laid back!

The slow boat trip was similar to travelling on the London Underground in some ways: we were stuffed in the boat like cattle and the heat was sweltering. But, once we started moving the breeze lowered the temperature significantly. Our numb bums from the hard wooden benches and virtually no leg room soon faded into the background: the scenery was stunning. We meandered through jungles, small villages, were surrounded by mountains and weaved in and out of huge rocks that stabbed out of the water. Sailing into the sunset was beautiful.

The stop-over on the first night was forgettable: a town called Pak Beng which only exists to serve as a one-night stay for the tourists.

The second day was much the same as the first although the autumnal colours of the trees made the views more impressive.

We finally hit Luang Prabang: a laid-back, old French colonial town, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The people are wonderfully friendly; this morning we spent 30 minutes chatting to some trainee monks in a nearby Wat (temple). They study for 6 years, learning about Buddhism as well as more academic subjects. Their training includes 3 ten day trips to the jungle where they learn to meditate and eat only once a day. Every morning they wake at 5 and go and collect alms in the town. We're thinking about trying to get up to see it tomorrow although I'm not sure if we'll get up in time!