Day 11, 1st May, Pak Beng to Luang Prabang by slow boat

The second day of the river boat trip was longer but more pleasant than the first.

I had ordered two baguette sandwiches from my landlady this time, chicken curry and tuna, and breakfasted on a large omelette with a large baguette to go with it, plus tea ("we only have Liptons", of course). 

Two young girls were collected in a sturdy vehicle to be transported somewhere, possibly to school. I wondered whether they might be driving to Luang Prabang, and if so whether I could hitch a ride ...

The chickens under the table on the left are cleaning up the rice the young girl spilt at breakfast.

The locals are counting on the boat-traveller trade and are investing in even more lodgings with river view.

The way down to the boat is steep and rocky, but going down is easier so I did it without help. My backpack-trolley wheels got a bit damaged on the gravel roads though. Here are later travellers making their way carefully down the slope.

It was a different boat today, confusing at first, until one had identified enough fellow-passengers from yesterday to be sure it was really the one to LP, not the one going back upstream. We set sail at about 9:30 am with considerably fewer passengers than the day before, though I can't imagine what happened to them. Anyway, it made things even more comfortable. A big bonus for me was securing one of the few upholstered seats at the rear of the boat, which changed the trip from martyrdom to something like relaxation. I snaffled a cushion from the back as well, and managed to keep the bench in front of us free, so it was even possible to put my feet up. Here's me looking happy about that. Next to me is Andrew, from San Francisco, who couldn't resist my advances when I asked if the seat next to him with his rucksack on it were free.

 Also, the sales area at the back sold not only drinks but also food, not that I needed any with my two baguettes and three bananas I'd bought at a stall on the way to the boat.

And the toilet was an upgraded version with a pretty window, almost luxury!

At the front of the boat carpets were laid down and travellers settled down comfortably to lounge and sleep and play cards. The fond French couple spent most of their day perched on the side.

 And here you can see what a difference just a slightly wider aisle makes.

 The scenery was much the same as the previous day, so I spent quite a while reading, like many others.  However Guns, Germs and Steel is pretty dense stuff, so I took a lot of breaks.

The boat next to us trying to manoevre out of the way.

Two monks getting off at a village.

Some young people disappointed about lack of sales.

Another boat going by.

Some boys playing.

Here it looked as if the rocks were blocking off the entire river, but our captain found a way around.

This is Pak Ou cave, a popular half-day excursion from Luang Prabang, a good sign that the journey will not last forever.

Abendstimmung auf der Mekong, as some Germans might say poetically.

And at last, after 8 hours, destination in sight, Luang Prabang!

A pretty riverside town miles away from anywhere, with luxuriant greenery draping colonial and local Lao architecture.

Day 12, Sunday 2nd May, Luang Prabang

A day of exploration and organisation. I rented a bike from the guesthouse and rode around the small peninsular that makes up the old town of Luang Prabang, looking at tours, flights, temples, places to eat and drink. The town is up-to-date with modern tourism, but in a less aggressive way than, for instance, Chiang Mai. There is just one main tourist street, with the night market at the end. The riverside roads and the backstreets and sidestreets are clean and paved and swathed in greenery. Temples, shrines and public buildings are surrounded by homely, attractive houses designed for gentle tropical living. Poverty is evident, but not so much as elsewhere, I cannot recall any beggars. Even the tuk-tuk drivers are relatively moderate in their quest for custom.  

Here are some impressions of the day:


Brunch: steamed fish with lemongrass, coconut and mint shake.

Small wat:

Activity options, from half-day cooking courses to 3 day tours of the wonders of Laos, finishing in the country of your choice. Or the really serious stuff, a VIP sleeper bus to China.

Mekong riverside road:

Sausages drying:

Leafy street with redbrick paved footpath with gutters:

Nam Khan riverside cafe:

Rice cakes drying in the sun:

Nam Khan river:

Closer up:

Monks' laundry:

Wat Xieng Thong complex:

Temple outer wall stories:

Monks contemplating Mekong:

 Quiet back street:
















Private party in the street with Karaoke:

Side lane going down towards Mekong riverside road, note the red brick paving, everywhere in the old town:

Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) was not available here in the riverside cafe, so I made do with mango pancake and a mixed fruit shake:

Ice cream man with music:

Dinner at the Coconut Garden Restaurant: fish with herbs steamed in banana leaf (one packet is open, the other still closed):

















At the end of this day I had a fair idea of the options for local activities (trip to waterfall with swim had been recommended by others) and routes out, best by plane (discount air fares on the internet can be cheaper locally). Also money exchange options, which varied wildly from the exorbitant to just acceptable.

Altogether an easygoing but productive day, a pleasant town and no hurry to leave.

Day 13, Monday 3rd May, Luang Prabang, Kuangsi Waterfall

Having decided firmly not to visit Van Vieng, 6 hours by bus, or Vientiane, a further 3, then to fly from there to Phnomh Penh, I set out to book a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia (where Angkor Wat is) and tried a fourth travel agency (there are about 20 in town). To my surprise there were two seats available on Lao Airlines for tomorrow, Tuesday, and this flight now had the same times as the Vietnam Airlines flight (and not two hours more to collect people in Savannakhet on the way), but the Lao price, well almost as cheap, $185 + 4% credit card usage charge. Whatever, I received a printed ticket for the flight leaving tomorrow at 10:35, arriving Siem Reap 12:00, be there 2 hours beforehand (international flight!) .
Later I emailed a nice hotel with swimming pool in central Siem Reap, where Harald had stayed while there last year, and received a positive reply. And at night after paying the hotel bill here, in cash, in dollars, the lad called his friend, a tuk-tuk driver, who will collect me here tomorrow morning at 8 am and take me to the airport for a prepaid $5.
Cambodia works in dollars, so I changed all Kip to dollars, so I can buy my Cambodian visa to enter the country and access a dollar cash machine.  Here I had to extract Kip, then change them to dollars at a money changer (whose rate, however, was better for me than the hotel's).
The main event today was a half-day trip to Kuang Si waterfall. A 40 minute minibus ride took us along a road improved with international aid to further tourism. There were nevertheless at least 3 rickety wooden bridges to slow down for. Also hills, curves, rivers, villages, plantations of a tall straight tree with yellowish bark and large green leaves, presumably planted in a token attempt to make up for the extensive deforestation that China is giving a helping hand with.
Apropos Chinese, there were three of them on the bus, from Chonquing as it turned out, two women and a rather repulsive (facial expressions, behaviour) man. They talked non-stop, often loudly, all the way there.
Admission was 20.000 Kip (about 2 Euros) for foreigners. The price for locals had been blacked out, to avoid controversy? It seemed a popular picnic place for Lao families and groups.

The waterfall was quite pretty, though now in the dry season not spectacular. Several of us had a long wait for a tourist-free shot of the falls, since our friends the Chinese were cavorting around having their antics immortalised in all combinations of three. They were, however, not the only ones.

The water collected in a series of pools cascading down the valley. I crossed to a path and saw a sign saying "up to the top" and saw some people walking up a pathway. I considered the pros and cons, and set off. After the path got steeper, I asked some people coming down how long it took, they said about  20 minutes, and that it was nice up there, so I continued. The path worsened and became more like rock-climbing, on craggy rocks and slippery earth. No Alpenverein here! I took a few breaks and made it to the top, which was nice but not spectacular. I waded across the top of the falls to see if there was another way down on  the other side, but deeper-looking water blocked me and I went back.

At the top of the path down, I decided I would have big trouble with my wet sandals, so changed to the trekking boots which had been weighing down my rucksack, a wise decision, for a change. I made it down without mishap and continued on down to the bathing area.
Some young people were frolicking under a mini-waterfall, but I only made it about 5 metres away from shore, as the water was opaque and full of rocks. I cooled off in the water for about 5 minutes then took about 10 getting myself dressed again, in a sweat-soaked shirt.
The path continued down past two other, nicer, swimming areas (there were changing cabins everywhere too, I noticed too late). Near the exit, about 8 black bears live in an enclosure and can be viewed. They are "rescued" bears, but I don't know from what.


There are all sorts of nature and environment and social schemes going on to which one is kindly asked (but not pressured) to contribute. One major effort involves trying to deal with a fraction of the problem of unexploded bombs dropped by the US over many years.

The minibus was due to leave at 5 pm. 5 of 10 were punctual, after 10 minutes the 3 Chinese strolled out of a restaurant, then we waited til 5:25 for a couple who had obviously left earlier by other means without bothering to let the driver know. As a result, we missed out on the 20 minute visit to a Hmong village entirely, and only just made it to the Mekong for sunset photos.
Lao street food:

Mekong sunset from Luang Prabang:

Slowboat travellers arriving in Luang Prabang:

A new slowboat load of travellers trudged up the hill with their packs, negotiating with the guesthouse touts and tuk-tuk drivers.

Back at the hotel, while washing clothes, I found a large red stain on one sleeve, and wondered how squashed fruit had got there. Turned out my left upper inside arm was bleeding, I assume from a leech while bathing at the waterfall. I only hope it was nothing nastier, and will keep the spot under observation.
I dined off the main street in a more local place and ate fish Labh. Labh is a Lao dish made of fish, chicken, pork or beef minced up with lemongrass, coriander, galangal and chilli and steamed. Very tasty, I'd had the chicken version in Pak Beng. This one was also tasty, but I found after fishing out the red chilli that there was also a lot of green chilli in it too, so I went on fishing til the spiciness was bearable. I tried sticky rice for the first time, it is coloured violet like Spanish onion and is served in baskets. It is what monks receive from the populace as alms. Tasted fine, and helped neutralise the chilli.
Here is the meal. The menu had mentioned wine by the glass, but this proved optimistic, so I had my last BeerLao:

I worked out how much of what money I would need when, and had a small amount of Kip left over, so I set out to the night market, which was just packing up shop at 10 pm, to buy a souvenir of Laos. It was a small picture of a typical scene with boat on river and woman carrying loads balanced on poles. Small, light, decorative (as if I am ever going to have enough walls for everything ...).