Floating down the Mekong

Ryan and I just returned from an amazing 10 day trip to Laos, a SE Asian country just East of Thailand. The country is noticeably poorer than Thailand, and the small villages, basic homes, and dirt roads winding through the hills of Laos reminded us somewhat of Bolivia. We were overwhelmed by the natural beauty of Laos. The French influence in food and architecture throughout the country was also something we didn't expect. You will hear more about that in a later post...

Our first major stop was Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage city tucked away in Northern Laos along the Mekong river. However getting to Luang Prabang was a wonderful adventure in itself, since we decided to take a two-day slow boat down the Mekong to get there. The Mekong is massive--it is the tenth longest river in the world and goes through Tibet, China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam...basically every single country in the region. Laos is a land-locked country and the Mekong and its tributaries are central to their culture, food, and economy.

We started by first taking an eight hour bus ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong, a Thai border town on the Mekong where we caught the slow boat. We were pleasantly surprised by the great guesthouse we stayed in. We got a nice room with a big deck overlooking a picturesque garden and the Mekong river with views of Laos on the other side!

The next morning we began our two day journey down the river to Luang Prabang, stopping halfway in Pakbeng, Laos, where we stayed overnight. The river trip was a great introduction to the beauty and relaxed nature of of the country. We met some great friends along the way, played cards, read, played a little ukulele, and just stared out of the boat soaking up the views.

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The view from our room in Chiang Khong, Thailand.

The Mekong River at Pakbeng.

Playing rummy with our friends Dawson and Sherri on the first day. We were not as lucky with the boat situation on the second day, where they decided to combine two boatloads of people into one...

Two boys on the back of a boat checking out our boat full of "farang" (aka white people).

Special delivery mid-ride...chickens and a puppy!

The Laos version of trying to squeeze between two SUVs parked in the compact parking spots.