Life on the Mekong River
This morning was even earlier than yesterday as I had to be at the tour office at 8am. To start with it did feel a bit like herding cattle as we trouped off following one of the ladies from the office in the direction of the river and the boat office where we were then joined by about 50 others all going the same way. Fortunately though once it was sorted I was allocated a seat on a boat that only took 5 passengers and my other journeymen were two couples from England travelling together for 5 weeks through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They were in their early 60s and were celebrating their retirement.
First stop was a local village for some Lao whisky tasking and the buying of local fare. The Lao whiskey was particularly potent and I’m sure you could have started fires with it, fantastic at 9am in the morning! What they did have for sale, which was interesting, was a variation that included a very interestingly placed small cobra or scorpion or similar in the bottle. :-( Not nice but interesting looking. One of my travel companions, Tad, really wanted to buy a bottle (complete with pickled creature!) to take home and of course it was quite eye catching on a shelf somewhere (not mine), but really, I’m not sure the UK customs would see it quite in that way, especially as its illegal to import any kind of animal product or parts or anything really! Fortunately after pointing this out Tad decided against his purchase. J What he then did admit to though was having all sorts of plant seeds from everywhere he’s been already! Lucky I’m not in customs huh?!
Lao whiskey and village life
The Pak Ou Caves were interesting with hundreds of Buddha images and statues inside and well worth the climb up to them.
Pak Ou Caves and the Mekong River
Pak Ou Caves and the Mekong River
The journey up the Mekong river was also very pleasant (once I had got over my usual water and boat problem) and we saw a variety of Mekong life ranging from washing bodies and clothes to fishing and farming.
Once back on dry land I had time for a quick dash back to the GH for my bikini and a chance to pick up a sandwich and I was suddenly on my way to the waterfalls! So much for not going huh?! To be honest the only reason I did go was because everyone else seems to be going and loving it and once again all in the travel experience! It took us 40 mins to get there and we arrived into what seems to be a commercial village set up purely just for the tourists coming through this way, I guess I was expecting a nice quite area in the middle of a forest somewhere with waterfalls and places to sit and have lunch.Well it was teeming with tourists jumping in and out of the water, screaming and shouting and leaving all their rubbish everywhere for, I guess, someone else to clear up, it really wasn’t the calm serene place it was supposed to be. Oh well some nice pics I guess as well as cute Sun bears to look at in the rehabilitation centre there.
Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls
Rescued Sun bear
This evening the two couples from the morning trip, Tad and Angela and Dave and Judith, have suggested meeting for a drink and dinner, and why not, they were very friendly and seemed good company. Well it has to be said, dinner was an amusing experience. I met my dinner companions at their GH right on the main street and between them they decided where to go, now I know they were having their retirement backpacking experience with money being no major object but I had got the impression they were embracing local ways and tastes. Mmm it seems not. Tad and Angela seem the most relaxed of the two couples and willing to try new things where as Judith seemed the more travelled but also the more reluctant to go with the flow. The night before they had eaten at a restaurant which Tad loved but Judith hated, it was a very expensive restaurant, but it wasn’t good enough and she wanted to go somewhere else tonight, Tad on the other hand enjoyed his meal and was keen to go back! You can see where this is going cant you? In the end we ended up going first for a drink to where they had eaten last night but then there was a 20 minute delay while Dave and Judith and the waiter argued over what wine to get or not get and what wine they had or didn’t have! It was brilliantly amusing and my only concern at this point was that the evening was going to go on far longer than I wanted it to with no hope of escape. Judith and Dave couldn’t agree on their choice of wine and the result was that Dave finished the bottle on his own.....and so it continued! It was like being caught right in the middle of a domestic and I really was right in the middle cause I was sitting between them both! Then when the food came that was another story. Judith wasn’t happy with what she had ordered and spent another 10 mins deciding on and ordering something else. Judith then demanded that tomorrow night they went to somewhere she choose! Honestly, I was so glad that by tomorrow night I would be a long long way away! Fortunately straight after dinner the ladies announced they were heading off to bed so a nice early escape for me was in order. It was nice to have dinner with them but also very nice to be leaving them, it’s just another experience in life’s great tapestry right?!
On the way back to my GH I had to walk through the night market again and of course being my last night in Luang Prabang I had to buy something............I just had to! ;-)
Luang Prabang night market
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