We had heard about a boat that was a bit more luxurious, including stops at caves and food, but that one was not leaving when we needed it to. The man at our hotel where we bought our tickets said if we paid a little more we could be guaranteed some of the better seats. Perfect, no problem. Yeah, he pocketed that money. All seats are the same and they are all first come first serve.
We were told the boat departed at 11, but boarding was at 10:15-10:30. We raced around getting breakfast, packed up, retrieving somewhat cleaner clothes and purchasing snacks, then boarded about 10:30. The boat was really quite large. There were a few seats at the front which faced one another, and then about twenty rows with a pair of seats on each side and a wide, six-foot wide aisle across the middle. The seats are old bus seats that are mostly bolted to the wooden floor boards making it feel like a large, open air bus. There was a room in the back for our luggage so that we didn't have to keep it in our seats with us.
The boat filled, but locals said it didn't depart until 11:30. Oh well, we were glad to have seats and ones that were next to one another.
The Mekong River that we are traveling down provides so very much for so many people who live in this region of the world. It has been compared to the Nile and the Amazon in ways that it brings life to so many. It is a wide, calmly flowing river the color of mud. Pockets of trash gather where currents collide and small logs drift alongside our boat. I assumed since so many people depended on this river that the river banks would be quite full of people, but I was very wrong. Instead, many of the banks remain perfectly empty. There are pockets of small communities, but those are incredibly small and also, not all that common. Those communities have homes that I would call more huts. They're made of wood and most show no sign of electricity. Near the pockets of people it is common to see cows, water buffalo, goats and chickens wandering along the shoreline. There is also some of the land in these areas that evidently is used as farm land, complete with a small shelter that provides the farmer relief from the rain as well as a great place to nap when escaping the summer sun.
In these pockets we've seen some people as well. Some are out on the shorelines, seemingly waiting for boats to pass as their entertainment for the day. Children laugh, smile and wave at the passersby, many of the young ones are without clothing and many of the young boys are busy chasing one another along the beach or doing flips in the water trying to impress us all. Fisherman pass us frequently in small, narrow boats.
We had heard that this trip was scenic and a beautiful way to travel. I would have to agree. The shorelines are a mixture of sandy beaches and black, rocky points. The lush green surrounding hilltops are often covered in low-hanging clouds. The gentle breezes caused from the movement down river have meant we've been very comfortable. Gentle waves and a slow-moving boat have kept my motion sickness at bay. In a way, it is similar to a train, airplane or bus that we are basically bound to our seats for a long duration, but we have fresh breezes blowing in and beautiful scenery to occupy us. An audiobook has been a great way to occupy most of my time. It has rained several times, but they have been gentle rain and we haven't gotten any wetter than a refreshing gentle mist on our faces.
The boat stops at a one-road town called Pak Beng for the night. The most difficult part of the journey may have been getting off the boat and onto the shore. The step off the boat was a large one, and then we were balancing on craggy, slippery rocks while wearing a backpack on both sides. The hotel we had booked was thankfully only about 100 yards from the dock and only about halfway up the hill. We had a delicious Indian dinner and were surrounded by mainly familiar faces as it seems most people staying in the town were on our same boat.
Before we de-boarded the boat, the man had shouted to everyone that we departed at eight the next morning. We wanted to make sure we once again got seats and so we were down at the boat around 7:30. It was then that we heard the locals talking about the boat leaving at 9. Oh well.
Our boat, however had been replaced by one that was a great deal smaller. There were probably about twelve rows of two pairs of seats and the aisle was just a little wider than that of an airplane. Each time we assumed the boat was full, more and more people came on. The boat was about half tourists and half locals. There are a few stops along the way aside from the main destination and sometimes local passengers and supplies got on and off at these stops. At one stop, about three people got off and more than twenty got on. I'm honestly not sure where everyone went to. There seems to be a room in the back of the boat where people kept disappearing to, but I'm not honestly sure what was back there. I'm just thankful we kept our seats, despite the fact that sitting for nine hours on an old bus seat is not the most comfortable. But, we made it safe and sound to the adorable town of Luang Prabang that has great charm!
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