MEKONG RIVER

Two days trip over Mekong river was my the most beautiful experience in Asia so far. The only thing I’m very, very sad about is that my camera was stolen in the overnight bus on my way back to Chiang Mai. And it’s not the camera I’m griefing over, but the pictures I took ☹
I left Chiang Mai 2 weeks ago and went to Chiang Rai, small, sleepy town on the north. I found cheap guest house on the nice sleepy street and went sightseeing. After a few hours I could work as a tourist guide there. However nice, sleepy street at the daylight turned out to be annoyed and noisy at night time. Loud music and screaming prostitutes didn’t let me fall asleep for a long time. Next morning at 6 am local bus took me to Chiang Khong, Thai border town. On Lao side of the Mekong river the town was called Huay Xai and there I got in so-called slow boat to Luang Prabang.
My rush in the morning was pointless, cos the boat didn’t sail off before noon and at 9 I had already fixed my visa and changed my bahts to kips, Lao currency. But this is part of Asian way of life, waiting ☺ If you’re not patient, Asia teaches you that, or you will hate it here. And also to always have a pillow on you if you travel with a local transport, including slow boats ☺
Although my ass was hurt by hard, unstable and narrow bench (even though I had a pillow), my eyes experienced immense beauty of nature landscape. From the very beginning Mekong river just mesmerised me. The river flows surrounding by mountains. Once in a while the villages appear, settled on steep slopes, almost invisible in the jungle. Down on the sandy banks women do laundry, men fishing, kids play in water. I had a fantasy that the boat could drop me on one of these beaches and after few weeks another one just would collect me from there...
Between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang the boat stops at Pak Beng, a village totally devoted to these trips, where almost every house is a guest house. I found a room in an awful, nouvorish style one. The room was at the back and all I needed this evening was shower and quiet. That was something else I could’ve had if needed: opium. „Madam, madam, it’s not a problem, you can smoke opium in Laos!” But it’s also not a problem for me not to smoke opium in Laos, so I skipped this unique attraction and went to sleep... Next morning I bought a tuna sandwich for lunch (later on I tried my best to find any fish there, but I wasn’t succesful) and got in the boat again...
After 9 hours I landed in Luang Prabang, refurbish town with its fancy restaurants and spa places in small post-colonial tenement houses. Some people love it, some think, it’s not a „real” Laos... Well, that was cute indeed, but rather boring after 1 day... So I moved to Plain of Jars...

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