Arrival in Laos

On Thursday night I decided to book the two day long Mekong river boat journey. The hope was that this would give me a couple of days sailing to hopefully work out a plan for Laos. The following morning, therefore, I arrived at the meeting point and crossed the border into Laos. It was during this process that I met my traveller buddies for this section of my journey, Colin and Myriam.

Our group were waiting for a very long time to be taken to the boat and I feared we would struggle to find a seat or even miss it completely. As it turns out, however, we were lucky. The boat was full and my group were therefore put onto our very own boat. While the passengers on the original boat were packed in like sardines, we had room to stretch our legs, walk about and enjoy the first leg of the two day journey. The scenery was pretty but repetitive, but the occasional herd of riverside cattle or group of village people added a little variety to the scene. I was still without a guide book for Laos though and therefore felt a little lost.

That evening the boat dropped us off at a one-street riverside town called Pak Beng. Colin, Myriam and myself were intrigued by the place; the entire nature of the settlement was to cater for the needs of those who were halfway along their Mekong River journey. It was basically a long street of guest houses, restaurants and the occasional shop. There were already some notable differences between here and Thailand too. After ordering our meals at a restaurant, the waiter soon returned with something else to sell; a small bag of Marijuana. I declined the offer, although the man subsequently felt the need to ask me to sniff the bag in case I would change my mind. I declined once more.

Upon boarding the boat for the second day of the boat ride, the boat was packed. Furthermore, we were informed that only the one boat was travelling that day. Finding a seat proved difficult, so Colin and myself moved to the back of the boat to lay down on the matted floor where much of the crew stayed. This proved to be far more comfortable than cramming into the crowded seats on the main section of the boat, and it also let us interact with the crew. One crew member seemed particularly interested in my IPod, and thoroughly enjoyed cycling through the randomised selection of songs. When I decided that I wanted it back an hour later, I found two crew members asleep on the floor with an ear-piece each. I was all set to attempt to retrieve my IPod in a warped version of Operation, but one of the men awoke before I could play.

In the evening we finally arrived in Louang Prabang. Louang Prabang is very relaxed and full of tourists. After we found a place to stay and eat a meal, Colin, Myriam and myself went to a bar. There we met Martin, probably the most interesting person I have met since Axel. Martin reminds me of a Norwegian version of Neil from The Young Ones. He's been travelling for an incredible three years, and he took great pleasure in informing me about his 'Musical Journey'. That evening our group of four ended up at a Laos disco - a place that was very reminiscent of a terrible and cheap university disco, but with the coolest Laos in town attempting to be 'Western'. Back in England it would have been a nightmare, but over here it was amusing.

The following day inevitably started late, but when Martin informed us of a nearby waterfall he was planning to go to, we could not refuse. The waterfall was certainly impressive from the base, but things got more interesting as we began to make the trek to the top. Very few of the many tourists there seemed to make this trek, and with no surprise; it brought back memories of my arduous trek to the hill tribe village near Chiang Mai. Once we hit the summit, however, it was all worth it. The views were fantastic.

Martin, however, was still not satisfied. He wanted more. As we began to trek down again he spotted a new route to one of the upper waterfall levels. With some steady footwork and a little inventive climbing, Martin had found his paradise. By straying from the well trodden route we had found a beautiful secluded section of the waterfall with spectacular views. Although a few people turned up later, we were largely there alone. It took a bit more climbing to find a way out of the waterfall once more, but we all knew that without Martin the trip would not have been so memorable.

In two days time Colin and Myriam are going on a three day trek. I am currently unsure if I will join them - I may possible choose a two day trek and then do a further trek in a different section of Laos. I will decide this tomorrow. What else I will do, I don't know. It's slightly different trying to plan days and routes with no guide book to hold your hand, but Martin has showed me that some of the better experiences while travelling come from finding your own way around.