Our next major city was Luang Prabang, the capital of Laos in (French) colonial times. The bus from Chiang Khong had not appeared attractive--long drive through the mountains, not air conditioned, no toilets--so we opted to take the two-day boat tour down the Mekong, stopping overnight in Pak Beng, and also for a few sights along the way. We were on the water perhaps six hours each day, lunch and snacks provided. There were about 40 other passengers, all European except for us and one other American. The crew, including the captain, a guide, a cook, and an assistant who did pretty much everything, was entirely Laotian. The tour was conducted by Nagi of Mekong.
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| Our boat, whose name I did not catch; it was in Laotian |
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| Our captain; very good at reading the waters; IMHO |
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| Command and control center |
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| Captain's shrine |
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| "Steady as you go" |
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Most of the passengers; most very nice; only one asshole, the American, of course,
loud and obnoxious |
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| A small long-tail whizzes by; maybe best termed a short-tail |
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According to our guide, the river was down about 7 meters (!), with a green
color he had not seen and with much exposed (and interesting) rock; all kinds of
bamboo poles and plastic bottles serve as markers for shallow or dangerous
water; this stretch of the Mekong passes over bedrock, running maybe 10mph
(my estimate) |
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| The cruise passed by a dozen or more villages, most on much higher ground |
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After being picked up at our Chiang Krong hotel, we had to go through both
Thai and Laotian immigration, etc., and so didn't get off until 9:45 or so; here's
one serving of lunch, fried fish, veggies, more |
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| Another tour boat about to pass |
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| Obviously a longer haul tour boat |
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| Many, many interesting rock formations; this one, the Dog |
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| Us, on the bow; I had suggested a Titanic pose, but she wouldn't go for it |
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| Humongous sand dunes lining the shores |
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Passing sometimes very close to rocks; as I said, the captain was very good at
maneuvering this long boat in the fast water |
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| Lay of strata, folding; Geology 101 (which I barely passed) |
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| Making brooms |
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| Another village |
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| White water, narrow passage |
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| Water buffalo and Brahma cattle all up and down the river |
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| About to land and visit this village |
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| Anchor |
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| We stayed on the boat: too hot for a climb, particularly with no steps |
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| There's gold in them thar sands; seriously; we'll see people panning further on |
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| Village fishing boats, some powered, some not |
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| More village activity along the shore; including panning for gold |
