Laos Wow! 2 Days on the Mekong!

The Laos journey begins from our hotel in Chiang Khong, Thailand. Chiang Khong is on the Thailand side of the Mekong River which serves as the border of Laos. The hosts at the Day Waterfront Hotel were genuinely warm and kind. They made us feel at home and provided us breakfast and company before our driver picked us up to begin the two day boat journey down the Mekong. They wanted to make sure we had plenty to eat!

Our boat journey begins in Hua Xing, Laos after going through immigration. The two day trek ends in Luang Prabang. We used Nagi of Mekong, a company that Earthtrekkers used last year and we concur with their positive review!

The first day’s trip is a beautiful 180 km as we head south along the Thai-Laos border. We soon make a turn east and are surrounded by Laos on both sides. Also surrounding us are lush green mountains. Shortly into our journey we have tea, coffee and a snack mid morning followed by lunch of soup, wonderful steamed vegetables, chicken, pork, fish and rice dishes.

Mid afternoon we stopped at the small village of Khokmeuy down the Mekong in Laos. We are told about four hundred people live in the village, many of them apparently out working. Of course, by any material standards the area is very poor, however, seemingly very happy people.

We met beautiful people and beautiful kids. Our walk through the small village included some time visiting the school. Beautiful, beautiful children, some having fun screaming and running from our boat group, all singing and waving to us. I think they did not want us to leave.

The kids loved having the visitors, probably because it was a break from their school day routine. They enjoyed having us visiting their classroom and interrupting their classes. They seemed to get a kick out of our attempts at hello and thank you in the Laos language. We enjoyed their smiles and laughter.

The adults in the area had a small distillery going! The still is simple but it works. It, of course, uses the same principles as Makers Mark Bourbon and Kentucky moonshine. About a third of our boat mates tried the rice based whiskey. I think we have something that would be marketable back in the US! It was actually very good, perhaps a bit rum-like or, a bit like sake, given the rice base. Much better than the Kentucky or Tennessee moonshine I have heard about, well ok, tried over the years.

We are sent off with warm smiles and cheerful waves by the children perched on the hill. They were even singing to us as we left.

The boat is designed so that there are several rows of four top tables with room for storage underneath the seats. We have wonderful table mates on our boat, Jessica and Nicole. They are newlyweds from Denver! We also have wonderful Australian mates sitting across from us. They are four bright, beautiful ladies that moved to Australia from Mauritius and have wonderful burgeoning careers in the IT and other industries.

Our accommodations on our overnight down the Mekong are in the small village of Pakbeng at the Mekong Riverside Lodge. They are cool bungalow type rooms built into the hillside overlooking the river. No air con, but it is cool in the evenings and good sleeping weather.
We ate across the lane from our room at the Khopchaideu Restaurant. It was very good food with both a Laos and Indian menu. We had Indian dinner tonight, our two go to dishes of vindaloo and chicken makhani, naan bread, rice, and beer…all for about $10!

We enjoyed a card game with our Aussie friends at the HAPPY Bar, along with a few Laos beers. A traveling Norwegian man taught us all the card game. Fortunately and wisely, we all turned in by 11 pm to ensure we had some sleep for our early morning departure for day two down the Mekong River. All, I should say, except our Norwegian friend that went frolicking into the night to find some fun.

Day Two Down the River to Luang Prabang
Our boat leaves for the final leg to Luang Prabang at 8 am so we are up for breakfast early. It is a nice, cool, foggy morning on the Mekong, that starts with breakfast back at the Khopchaideu Restaurant…and to the sounds of the elephants. Yes elephants on the banks of the Mekong…very cool.

The trip today is about nine hours and travels 180 km. It is amazing to watch the boat’s driver weave down the river through the rocks, some showing, many not. The river is fairly wide and is a muddy color, so submerged rocks are difficult to see. At this time, just after the rainy season, the river is three or four meters lower than its peak.

Late morning, we made a stop at another small village along the river. As we docked the boat some children were enjoying a naked slide down a muddy creek bed, and then diving head first into the Mekong. They were enjoying every minute of the entertainment they were providing us and our fellow boat passengers.

As we climbed the hill to the village we were met by young children selling cheap bracelets – very cheap. I made my donation to a young blind boy. A sad story we later learned, but a condition that may be able to be reversed if a pathway to care is achieved between doctors and his parents.

The children of the village love pictures and in particular “selfies”, where, of course, they can look into the camera and see themselves. As they all laughed and smiled as I took a selfie, instantly recalling my niece Katie’s trip to Ghana where she had the same experience.

This village had a temple that was staffed by two Buddhist monks. After a short visit and a warm send off by the children we were cruising back down the Mekong.

Just before arriving in Luang Prabang we stopped at a “famous” cave, Pak Ou. There is an upper and lower cave. As you might expect, there are many, many steps to the upper cave. Good exercise!

It is a fairly large, wide cave. There are many Buddha images inside that make it impressive. When we visited, there was minimal lighting except for a few flashlights and camera flashes. A little bit of an eerie feeling, seeing nothing and then all these statues when the cameras flashed.