So we set off on this huge long boat – me and my crew of five other people. This boat is the same size as the public slow boats which seat (very tightly) up to 100 people. They are converted cargo boats where the family live on the bit at the back and the open cargo bit is converted for passengers by adding old car seats. At least the seats reclined a bit, think these were from an old people carrier. But I am following in Ant’s foot (or should I say boat) steps as this was the kind of boat he took when he did this trip last year.
Speed boats are another alternative to go down to Luang Prabang, very small, very fast open boats. They make you wear crash helmets and it’s something like a nine hour journey of bouncing about. And obviously the crash helmets don’t bode well, all the guide books say don’t do it as there are so many accidents, so I was amazed at the number of Westerners who sped past.
The Mekong river here is wide and fast. I was surprised to see little beaches among the rocks all the way along each side, with beautiful green trees and plants higher up which is above the water line during the rainy season. And the beaches available during the dry season are used to grow a variety of plants and herbs, including peanuts. On the other side of all the forested area are the rice paddies, terraced in the hills. Here and there are bamboo fishing rods attached to the rocks and primitive versions of the Chinese fishing nets we saw in Cochin, India. After a few minutes, we passed a big mountain, and I was told that that was the end of Thailand as the river made its way into Laos proper – the mobile signal faded at the same time…..
The river is not the benign, slow moving brown ribbon it is down in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam – there are eddies and currents everywhere that you can see, and it cuts through high hills all the way with very steep banks. You can see how high it goes in the rainy season by the tree line, and it was a long way up. This time of year it is still quite full but as the months approach the rainy season in June, it goes even lower and makes some parts even more treacherous and sometimes un navigable. It seems our boat captain is an expert as he appears to do what feel like handbrake turns to navigate the currents. It is an odd feeling to be heading straight for a rock wall and then turning back into the river at the last minute. At times it also feels a bit like simple white water rafting as we bounce over some really rough rapids. In places the Mekong is like a huge bubbling witch’s cauldron. No need to read a book to pass the time, the ever changing riverside scenery keeps you well occupied. Fishermen, dotted hillside villages with thatched houses clinging on to the slopes, tiny boats (with the occupants furiously baling water out) navigating the same rough patches as us. And then the odd speedboat with their crash helmeted occupants looking like beetles hanging onto both the boat and their possessions for dear life as they speed by leaving a big wake in their trail. The captain’s wife busies herself whilst her one year old baby is strapped to her back, fast asleep.
But time flies and we approach the witching hour of 6pm where all boats have to stop, the river is too dangerous to navigate at night. We had to abort our first landing site as jagged rocks almost pierce the boat. We cross to the other side where there is a big, steep beach leading up to a small settlement. This was to be our home for the night. The boat was tied to big bamboo posts in the sand to hold it against the fast moving water – the ropes really strained – I hoped they would hold all night…. I try to make light pre dinner conversation with the guide, but he was not well with man flu, and his English was also a bit suspect. But even I at this stage realised asking for a “kole why why” was sadly probably a bit of a waste of time. So I spent my time admiring the full moon – and lucky we had that. As darkness completely fell, I waited for them to rig up the power, there must be some from the generator for an odd light or two at least. But no, we were on one candle power here… Dinner was served “en famille” with us all sitting round the square plastic table. Baby was also having her breastfed dinner at the same time…. I was a little concerned at hygiene (no change there then I hear you cry) as I had seen the dishes being washed in the river. Now bear in mind everything goes in this river from the villages along the way and the Asian (and Western I assume) loos on all the boats that ply up and down. Deryn’s Milton wipes came to the fore and as I wondered how I could do a surreptitious wipe it was too late. I was served a pile of rice and a spoon and fork. They all use their fingers, the guide explained as they delved into the bamboo baskets of tepid rice. Two types of rice (sticky and steamed), a tomato omelette, some chilli and garlic, some very strong smelling fish and dried Buffalo wings – how nice I thought, just like you get in TGI Friday’s. Odd though, they didn’t look like chicken wings, dried or otherwise. I drew on my language skills yet again and finally understood – they were fried buffalo lungs…. It was at this point I explained I was a vegetarian…… I do hate to cause offence and this fabrication seemed the simplest way out. And then there was the issue of the wet glasses that had just been rinsed in the river. I needed a drink to get me through and had bought some cans of BeerLao (just in case) as well as water and Coke before we boarded the boat. The shop had given me some straws so I decided to drink my beer in the Western Way (they seemed to accept that explanation) with said straw straight from the can.
Dinner over, my bed was quickly made up in the front of the boat. A thin foam mattress, and a smelly grey blanket and grubby pillow awaited my slumbers. All at least tucked under a mosquito net. Beds were made up for the guide and the boat boy by moving together some of the car seats and draping with another net a few feet away – and I always said I don’t share rooms – here I was sharing a boat deck with two complete strangers, things are looking up!
It was obviously bed time. But as always, nature calls. I was now faced with my utmost terror, managing the squat loo, on a swaying boat, but now in the pitch dark….. I asked for a candle to help light my way (actually may have been better not to have seen…..) but they eventually came up with a dodgy torch. Now I do have a torch downloaded on my iTouch, but thought about the possibility of dropping it down said loo (Ant – remember the story from China about that nice Canadian who lost her very expensive sunglasses that way!). In the corner of the wooden loo was hanging a little cup with the family toothbrushes and a primitive tap drawing water up from the river. This I supposed was also the washing part of the bathroom, although the whole family had already taken it in turns to have a bath and a teeth clean in the river whilst dinner was cooking. I decided to stay dirty. It was also getting cold, so a bath in the river was also out of the question (frankly it was never in the question…..). So it was lights out – or should I say candle out, promptly at 8.30 pm. No nightlife to participate with in the village – they have no power at all, so everywhere was dark and quiet as the boat swayed silently in the river currents. But wide awake I remembered the iTouch and that I had downloaded the film Mama Mia before I came away (thanks Deryn, I used one of your Apple gift cards to pay for it). So there I was, tucked in my hard grubby bed (my head itches even know just thinking about it), trying to laugh quietly as I watched, it’s such a great film. Bizzare but very funny and an evening to remember – what an adventure!
So the film finally finishes and I decide to try and sleep – it was difficult. I must have got a couple of hours and was pleased to hear activity and see a candle – great I thought, it must be approaching morning and we can get going. But wrong, I checked the clock and it was 3.30am – I think it was Mum feeding or sorting the baby. So back down I lay until 6am when it was “everybody up”!
Speed boats are another alternative to go down to Luang Prabang, very small, very fast open boats. They make you wear crash helmets and it’s something like a nine hour journey of bouncing about. And obviously the crash helmets don’t bode well, all the guide books say don’t do it as there are so many accidents, so I was amazed at the number of Westerners who sped past.
The Mekong river here is wide and fast. I was surprised to see little beaches among the rocks all the way along each side, with beautiful green trees and plants higher up which is above the water line during the rainy season. And the beaches available during the dry season are used to grow a variety of plants and herbs, including peanuts. On the other side of all the forested area are the rice paddies, terraced in the hills. Here and there are bamboo fishing rods attached to the rocks and primitive versions of the Chinese fishing nets we saw in Cochin, India. After a few minutes, we passed a big mountain, and I was told that that was the end of Thailand as the river made its way into Laos proper – the mobile signal faded at the same time…..
The river is not the benign, slow moving brown ribbon it is down in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam – there are eddies and currents everywhere that you can see, and it cuts through high hills all the way with very steep banks. You can see how high it goes in the rainy season by the tree line, and it was a long way up. This time of year it is still quite full but as the months approach the rainy season in June, it goes even lower and makes some parts even more treacherous and sometimes un navigable. It seems our boat captain is an expert as he appears to do what feel like handbrake turns to navigate the currents. It is an odd feeling to be heading straight for a rock wall and then turning back into the river at the last minute. At times it also feels a bit like simple white water rafting as we bounce over some really rough rapids. In places the Mekong is like a huge bubbling witch’s cauldron. No need to read a book to pass the time, the ever changing riverside scenery keeps you well occupied. Fishermen, dotted hillside villages with thatched houses clinging on to the slopes, tiny boats (with the occupants furiously baling water out) navigating the same rough patches as us. And then the odd speedboat with their crash helmeted occupants looking like beetles hanging onto both the boat and their possessions for dear life as they speed by leaving a big wake in their trail. The captain’s wife busies herself whilst her one year old baby is strapped to her back, fast asleep.
But time flies and we approach the witching hour of 6pm where all boats have to stop, the river is too dangerous to navigate at night. We had to abort our first landing site as jagged rocks almost pierce the boat. We cross to the other side where there is a big, steep beach leading up to a small settlement. This was to be our home for the night. The boat was tied to big bamboo posts in the sand to hold it against the fast moving water – the ropes really strained – I hoped they would hold all night…. I try to make light pre dinner conversation with the guide, but he was not well with man flu, and his English was also a bit suspect. But even I at this stage realised asking for a “kole why why” was sadly probably a bit of a waste of time. So I spent my time admiring the full moon – and lucky we had that. As darkness completely fell, I waited for them to rig up the power, there must be some from the generator for an odd light or two at least. But no, we were on one candle power here… Dinner was served “en famille” with us all sitting round the square plastic table. Baby was also having her breastfed dinner at the same time…. I was a little concerned at hygiene (no change there then I hear you cry) as I had seen the dishes being washed in the river. Now bear in mind everything goes in this river from the villages along the way and the Asian (and Western I assume) loos on all the boats that ply up and down. Deryn’s Milton wipes came to the fore and as I wondered how I could do a surreptitious wipe it was too late. I was served a pile of rice and a spoon and fork. They all use their fingers, the guide explained as they delved into the bamboo baskets of tepid rice. Two types of rice (sticky and steamed), a tomato omelette, some chilli and garlic, some very strong smelling fish and dried Buffalo wings – how nice I thought, just like you get in TGI Friday’s. Odd though, they didn’t look like chicken wings, dried or otherwise. I drew on my language skills yet again and finally understood – they were fried buffalo lungs…. It was at this point I explained I was a vegetarian…… I do hate to cause offence and this fabrication seemed the simplest way out. And then there was the issue of the wet glasses that had just been rinsed in the river. I needed a drink to get me through and had bought some cans of BeerLao (just in case) as well as water and Coke before we boarded the boat. The shop had given me some straws so I decided to drink my beer in the Western Way (they seemed to accept that explanation) with said straw straight from the can.
Dinner over, my bed was quickly made up in the front of the boat. A thin foam mattress, and a smelly grey blanket and grubby pillow awaited my slumbers. All at least tucked under a mosquito net. Beds were made up for the guide and the boat boy by moving together some of the car seats and draping with another net a few feet away – and I always said I don’t share rooms – here I was sharing a boat deck with two complete strangers, things are looking up!
It was obviously bed time. But as always, nature calls. I was now faced with my utmost terror, managing the squat loo, on a swaying boat, but now in the pitch dark….. I asked for a candle to help light my way (actually may have been better not to have seen…..) but they eventually came up with a dodgy torch. Now I do have a torch downloaded on my iTouch, but thought about the possibility of dropping it down said loo (Ant – remember the story from China about that nice Canadian who lost her very expensive sunglasses that way!). In the corner of the wooden loo was hanging a little cup with the family toothbrushes and a primitive tap drawing water up from the river. This I supposed was also the washing part of the bathroom, although the whole family had already taken it in turns to have a bath and a teeth clean in the river whilst dinner was cooking. I decided to stay dirty. It was also getting cold, so a bath in the river was also out of the question (frankly it was never in the question…..). So it was lights out – or should I say candle out, promptly at 8.30 pm. No nightlife to participate with in the village – they have no power at all, so everywhere was dark and quiet as the boat swayed silently in the river currents. But wide awake I remembered the iTouch and that I had downloaded the film Mama Mia before I came away (thanks Deryn, I used one of your Apple gift cards to pay for it). So there I was, tucked in my hard grubby bed (my head itches even know just thinking about it), trying to laugh quietly as I watched, it’s such a great film. Bizzare but very funny and an evening to remember – what an adventure!
So the film finally finishes and I decide to try and sleep – it was difficult. I must have got a couple of hours and was pleased to hear activity and see a candle – great I thought, it must be approaching morning and we can get going. But wrong, I checked the clock and it was 3.30am – I think it was Mum feeding or sorting the baby. So back down I lay until 6am when it was “everybody up”!
