The lush green forested hills through which the fast flowing river cuts a swathe with the occasional boiling whirlpools that mar the mostly flat surface, the jagged rocks that jut up to the sky about 10m high along the banks, the life of the people viewed in quick vignettes ...
We pass tucked-away villages with little homes made of bamboo perched on the sides of the hills. Small herds of buffalo keep cool by semi submerging themselves in the river, goats make their way up steep sides of the hills, cows and pigs wander around, and always the people - working and living. We watched them panning for gold, tending their peanut plots growing on the white sanded flat banks of the river, fishing from little dugout boats, tending their cattle. Interesting wooden poles hang out over the water from many of the rocky outcrops attached to large nets that hang into the water. Picturesque scenes around every twist and turn of the river that our captain navigates so smoothly.
And here we sit in an 80 foot timber boat (25m wide) sipping on a "3 in 1" coffee (ie: coffee with sugar and creamer in one) with yummy meals being cooked for us. We sit mostly up the front of the boat with almost no sound of the quiet motor, just listening to the water rushing past underneath the wooden framework.
The mighty Mekong has its source high up in the Tibetan Plateau and dominates the topography of Laos - so much so that the entire country parallels the course of this river. 1635kms of the 4500km river is joined to Laos. Over 2 days we have traversed 324kms of its length.
The first night we spent in Pak Beng at the Mekong Riverside Lodge. Our accommodation was theae amazing little chalets with all the romance that a place with an outlook over a river could have- bamboo walls, romantic swags of mozzie net over the large comfortable bed, olde worlde wooden shutters that fling open to a breathtaking view of the river and surrounds, and best of all a balcony with the most comfortable wooden chairs that invite you to just 'sit'!
After a delicious meal in town we hurried back to our balcony just to be able to look out at our own private little scene. The little town was deserted except for a few intrepid locals selling bakery produce. We bought some freshly stuffed apple croissants - far too tempting for Clinton to pass up :) Though all was dark from our balcony, the Mekong lay like a great sleeping snake on which twinkled the lights of the moored slow boats and the view had its very own appeal.
As we travelled along, fast boats would zoom past with their passengers often wearing crash helmets! These "heua wai" resemble a surfboard with a car engine strapped to the back and go very fast and are said to be deafeningly loud, uncomfortable and dangerous. They reach their destination in a day (if they DO indeed reach there!) whereas we take 2 days travelling in this langourous manner.
As part of the trip we visited a Khamu tribe's village and dropped in at a "friendship village" that houses 3 tribal groups (Lao, Khmer and Hmong - I think) who bombarded us with the scarves they made. Memories of Sapa in Vietnam :)
We also visited Pak Ou caves which are set in a dramatic karst formation. The two famous caves are crammed with Buddha images of various styles and sizes brought their by devotees. Fascinating.
Ben and Clinton were in boating heaven as they explored every nut and bold and even had the opportunity to check out the engine bay. They talked boats and boating and potential business ventures on the Mekong River to their heart's content! Me? I just lolled around and enjoyed the passing beauty.
All in all it was a magical experience - calm and serene preparing us nicely for the enchanting town of Luang Prabang where time has slowed down even more!
The gorgeous chalets we stayed at in Pak Beng! one of these was ours overlooking the river.
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