Down the Mekong to Luang Prabang

As posted by Ingrid:

After a colourful 2.5hour "stop upon request" bus ride from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong and an overnight stay at a small riverside hotel with beds as hard as rocks we set out in a small dinghy across the Mekong and into Laos. The little craft was so narrow I was afraid our large bags would fall overboard. Turns out the ferryman stopped short of solid land and were it not for a fellow passenger who took pity on us, we would still be pulling our luggage through the wet sand.

Shampoo Cruise waited for us at Laos Customs and after a long delay (visas for Canadians are the most expensive at US43 and took the longest to process) we set off on our two-day cruise down the Mekong. The day started cool and misty. We bundled ourselves into blankets, drank hot tea and chatted with our 16 fellow passengers, which included a couple from Vancouver, 3 Danish girls, 2 Germans ladies, 1 British gal and a young couple from Utrecht in the Netherlands.

At this time of the year, the Mekong is approaching its lowest watermark point. Rapids and rocks abound and the captain made sure we were evenly distributed in the boat to allow him to navigate safely. Much narrower that I had expected, the river winds itself through mountain ranges, providing a new viewpoint at every turn. Sandbanks, where locals plant peanuts during the dry season, line the edges. Although it is possible to travel by speedboat (very dangerous), overall traffic on the river is sparse and its brown waters glide by languidly.

After lunch the sun warmed the air and by the time we arrived in Pakbeng, our half-way point, and climbed the steep river bank, we were hot, hot, hot. Pakbeng is a little village that does not have to try very hard to please and is more often than not described as somewhat of a "hell-hole" in travel books. But, to our big surprise, our hotel was absolutely beautiful. Situated high on a hill they had upgraded us to a suite on the highest floor and spellbound we watched the vista until it grew too dark to see.

By the second day, we became as lazy as the river, feeling our tension ebb away by the hour. After floating 280km we arrived in Luang Prabang, one of the jewels of Southeast Asia in the late afternoon.

As posted by Helen:

It is now Monday and we have been in Luang Pragang, Laos, since Friday evening.  Laos was a French colony (a neglected one at that) from the late 1800's until the French finally gave it its independence around the 1950's (there is a lot of history in between which we won't go into here).    All this to say that the town of Luang Pragang reflects the French culture in its food (yummy) and architecture.  It is a town that just oozes with charm - it is on a peninsula with the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers on each side, is surrounded by mountains, its streets lined with flowering trees and beautiful Buddhist temples with their golden roofs.  It is a a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On Sunday we took in the Royal Palace which is now called the National Museum as the monarchy was overthrown in 1975.  Relative to other palaces I have visited it was not ostentatious, except maybe for the royal throne.  There were some great paintings reflecting the countryside of Laos, and spectacular murals made with Japanese glass.  The bedrooms of the king and queen were very simple with minimal furniture as were the quarters of their children. There was even a building housing some of the 1970's royal cars many of them having been donated by the U.S. Government, one of them an Edsel in good condition.

Monday morning we set out just after 8 am to walk up to the highest point in the town - it gets way too hot to do anything more more than relax in a shady spot past noon.  The walk involved climbing some 400 steps to the top which we couldn't manage to do without stopping a few times!  Because we were so early the sun had not burned away the morning mist so maybe we did not get the perfect view, but our bodies were very happy for the cooler conditions.

Guess who is hiding behind the dragon's head:

Monday evening we went back to the Royal Palace to take in a performance by the Lao National Ballet which performs a Lao version of the Indian epic, the Ramayana.  It was a wonderful experience (we only saw Scene 1 of this epic) particularly with respect to the elaborate and colorful silk costumes along with fabulous headdresses.  My favourite scene was the one where the dancers with monkey masks continually went down on their haunches scratching the backs of their necks.  It was quite humorous and they really resembled the actions of monkeys!  There were also some scenes where only beautiful girls with exquisite hand movements performed.

Besides strolling around the town taking in its natural beauty, there are many activities one can participate in from this town - rock climbing, mountain bike riding, trekking in the mountains which can be combined with overnight home stays, cooking classses, volunteering your time to teach English (something we might do while we are here).