« Cruising down the river | Main | Luang Prabang »
June 27, 2005
Another day on the Mekong
(Day 128) No one seemed to know when the boats would leave.
"8:30?" suggested my guesthouse owner.
"Maybe 9:00?" speculated a fellow traveller.
"I heard 7:30," claimed another.
I didn't worry too much about it though, and took my time eating breakfast. As long as there were other foreigners walking the streets, I was sure I had time.
It turned out that even the most generous guess was off, and we didn't get going til almost 10:00am. The first couple hours were plagued by rain. Tarps were unrolled to keep us dry, but in the process, obstructed our vision. As usual though, the rain was short-lived, and by noon, we were again cruising down the river valley in pleasant weather.
For the most part, it was just a repeat of yesterday. Wooden homes on stilts, random stops to pick up locals, animals resting on the banks. The water serene in some spots, and not so serene in others. There were a couple new things to be seen though. Like elephants, not yet unemployed as a result bulldozers, doing grunt work, and watching a car being ferried up the river. Wonder why they didn't just use the roads.
Just as no one had known the departure time in the morning, no one knew how long today's journey would be.
|
"Someone told me it would be five hours today," said a girl from Lebanon (who I forgot to ask the name of) sitting in front of me.
"I'm guessing around seven," was my input.
"I heard nine," said Alex, the French guy I had had dinner with the night before.
"I hate you," remarked the Lebanese girl.
Around 4:00pm, we passed the Pak Ou caves. Inside the caves are supposedly a collection of Buddha images. The engines were cut for us to get a look at them, but we didn't dock for exploration. If I wanted to visit them, I'd have to arrange a day trip from Luang Prabang.
Some time later, Alex read in his guidebook that the Pak Ou was only 25km from town.
"How fast do you think we're going," asked the Lebanese girl.
"I have no idea."
"Maybe 30km/h?"
"That sounds reasonable."
"How long ago did we pass them?"
"Uhh..."
As we spoke, the boat started turning towards the banks.
"Is this it? Shouldn't Luang Prabang be on the right side?"
We studied the map.
"No, left is correct."
"Look at the temple. This has to be it."
We drifted in and the wooden plank was laid out for us to disembark from. Everyone was eager to get off. The cruise had been nice for the first day and a half, but for the last couple hours, the romance of cruising down the Mekong had really begun to wear off.
Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!
Posted by markyiin at June 27, 2005 07:03 AM