Thailand to Laos

Charms

We must really thank the intrepid tour guides who create a seamless herd of tourists from the neon bustle of Thailand into the enchanting heart of Laos. We paid less than $40 each for a three-day adventure from Chiang Mai Thailand to the ancient fortress city of Loang Prabang, Laos. At no time in our previous five months had we traveled for so long and had to make so few decisions or think so little. We became sheeple, and gladly so.

A minibus picked us up from Studio99, then shuttled around Chiang Mai for 30 minutes, adding a Dutch couple, a Kiwi couple and four Swedes to the back seats. We then directioned out of the city for 5 or 6 hours to a guesthouse in a small Thai village on the bank of the Mekong River. As we stepped out of the minibus we were immediately corralled into a line where we were handed Laos immigration papers and pens. We were instructed to provide a passport size headshot of ourselves which we luckily had stashed in our packs. We were told that Laos charges $35 per person for a 30 day visa on arrival. We were given good exchange rates. They warned us that the boats have uncomfortable seats and sold us cushions for 40 Baht. They cooked us a delicious feast of pumpkin curry and vegetarian fried noodles. The room was small and dingy but clean and comfortable and perfectly fine. Dan decided it was a good time to start reading the Laos Rough Guide.

In the morning, they fed us some eggs, herded us onto a minibus to the Thai immigration, waited while we were stamped out of Thailand, prodded us onto a boat and ferried us across the Mekong to Laos. The streets of Laos were dustier. The boats of Laos were much older. The immigration officials in Laos were beautiful. Somehow there was even less attempt at organization than Thailand. Getting through the maze of passport-stamping took ages. The travelers waddled back and forth stroking their money belts as a calm, serenity began to creep into them. Something magical was happening.

Then, our worst nightmare occurred. We were forewarned that the boats were often crowded with many more people than seats. We had strategized to arrive early. But when our pickup truck finally arrived at the docks, every seat was already taken by smug-looking western travelers. All that remained was a small patch of overcrowded floorspace in the front of the boat, in the doorway.

As luck smiled upon us, the highly-coveted benches were dramatically uncomfortable, and our seats allowed us to stretch out, to hang our legs over the side of the boat, and to meet fascinating new friends. We had somehow scored the best seats on the boat.

Eight hours of "slow boating" down the Mekong is, to young people who grew up watching TV every day, like watching eight hours of the nature channel. It feels like something respectable and productive. It feels like it helps make you a better person. Its boring but beautiful. Excruciating but excellent. We'd do it again, but we wouldn't want to. You should do it; its phenomenal.

There is a small village on the banks of the Mekong halfway from Huang Xai and Louang Prabang called Pakbeng. What is important about Pakbeng is the bread. French baguettes. Everywhere. The French had colonized Laos and taught them the most important aspect of French culture: bread. We had baguettes with curry for dinner, and baguettes with eggs for breakfast.

The next morning we strategized to get our door-seats again. Mostly, the strategy involved getting up excruciatingly early. It was successful, though they changed boats to a smaller boat, and added several dozen more people to the passenger list. The idea of "comfortable seats" quickly became an oxymoron as the boat staff pulled the benches from under the passengers and tossed them onto the roof of the boat. Throughout the 8 ensuing hours we stopped several times to add a dozen 50 kilo bags of rice (which became our seats), huge metal drums, a breast feeding Laotian woman and her family, several families of farmers, even more cargo and a woman trying to sell a huge, living Mekong catfish tied by its dorsal fin to a thick, dirty string.

We arrived in Louang Prabang as the sky reflected sunset oranges into the rippling Mekong. In the first moments on land, Kim got eleven mosquito bites, we paid too much for a tuk tuk to the Muong Lao Guesthouse, and we fell deeply and quickly asleep.

Love,
Dan&Kim

Anna posted on 2007-12-25 at 1:18 pm

Wow. guys, it sounds absolutely amazing and beautiful. thank you for sharing. I can't tell you enough how wonderful your pictures are. I want the book...

---

Mom posted on 2007-12-24 at 11:41 pm

Another amazing adventure.Thank you. Wish I was there with you. With love hugs and kisses. xoxoxoxo

---

RSS Feed Subscription