A bit of a time has passed since our last update and we've covered a fair bit of miles, crossing into Laos and heading down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. The border crossing into Laos was very relaxed and easy. We checked out of Thailand on the shores of the Mekong river, payed the equivalent of $0.50 for the small ferry (ok, a larger canoe, basically) across the muddy and low river, arriving at the other side. We passed through customs which was not much more than a tired, bored immigration officer in a one room building, and officially entered Laos.
We've timed our arrival in Laos to coincide with the lunar new year celebration, Songkran, that is offically held from April 14th to the 16th. There is another name for the festival as well: WATER FESTIVAL. We were first indroduced to the events on the short bus ride from Chaing Rai to the Thai border. The bus was not air conditioned and the windows were wide open as we passed through a small, remote town. The local kids must have been bored and decided to start the festivities a few days early. Result: a pail full of water, tossed through the open widows, dousing all.
Water dousing on the street of Luang Prabang.
After a night in the border town of Huay Xai, pronounced "way sigh", we boarded a large wooden boat, packed with foreigners on small, uncomfortable, wooded bench seats. The ride would take two days to reach the cultural heart of Laos, Luang Prabang. The ride was stunning. Em and I both had a preconceived picture of the Mekong river from how we saw it almost 1000 kilometes downstream in Vietnam. There it ran wide and flat, carrying sewage , plastic and other pollution from all the villages and towns upstream. In northern Laos it is much smaller, cleaner, faster and runs through a dramatic limestone valley. See pictures below:
A small village on the shore of the Mekong.
A similar boat to ours, heading upstream.
A look upstream the Mekong from our guesthouse in Pak Beng, the halfway point of our river journey:
We arrived in Luang Prabang at about 6:00 pm the next day, after an overnight stop in a small town called Pak Beng which is set up to accommodate the foreigners passing through. We settled into an OK $10 room and spent the next day exploring the town, the markets, the wats, the used bookstores and the street vendors. We found a great $0.50 per plate, buffet vegetarian food stand for dinner and then booked a kayak trip for the next day.
The view of town from a wat-on-a-hill.
The kayak trip was down the Nam Siang, a scenic 2 hour drive north through several small, montguard villages. We stopped in two of them and our guide took us around showing us a typical house and a school, and explaining their animist and spiritual beliefs. Then we hit the water in our double kayak and paddled down about 15 km. On our trip back to town, riding in the back of a pickup, we were easy targets for more water festival dousings. Kinda nice in the hot weather.
Em taking a paddle break.
Today we headed out of town again to some great waterfalls, a must-see of Luang Prabang. We were soaked before we got there as we were again, in the back of a tuk-tuk, and a favored target of the water-dousing stations along the way. At the top of the multi-tiered falls, Em and I stopped for a swim and a few jumps off of a small cliff. About 15 young Buddhist monks, in their bright orange sarongs, joined us and the locals. What a pretty sight: The limestone cliffs, the emerald green water, the dark green jungle and bright orange monks. Picture time, eh?
The monks are very young and they had as much fun as us.
Here is Em under some of the falls.
A look at the falls from afar....stunning aren't they?
More waterfall fun, here is me at the very top of the falls! Don't worry, it's not as scary as it looks.
The next few days will find us enjoying and participating in the official days of the festival. More water throwing for sure, but also the sand sculpting of Buddhist stupas on the shores of the Mekong, a parade, a large market, and several other more traditional Songkran festivities.
On a different note....to see photos from our cooking school in Chiang Mai, go to this website:
http://www.cookinthai.com/photo/20060402/index.htm
5 comments:
Oh, now I'm really jealous. I was wondering how you'll spend your month but I see it's a beautiful country.
Enjoy.
Oh my Heck. Friggin SpeCtacular..
Looks awesome. Keith you are starting to look like a Marine. :)
What a surprise, what awesome sights, loved every picture, that little village on the river was so scenic. What is that pinkish haze in the air? I want the waterfall and pool, bring them home. Just all warm looking at you two there.
MJ
We are enjoying your trip very much. The photos are great.
at the cooking school I was impressed to see EM crossing her
legs like the locals- how long can you sit that way?
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