Six day trip to Laos - day 2pt1
Already inside Laos and up at 6.15, the group set breakfast at 7 is part of the trip deal - 2 fried eggs each on a piece of bread, banana and coffee....hmmm, not enough for me but no time to ask for more.
Bus leaves at 7.30, soon we have to cross a tributary river on a very old ferry, which arrives from the other side after a long wait.
We walk onto the ferry, thus avoiding a tricky descent in the bus on rutted dried mud to the vehicle ramp (steeper than it looks in the photo). There is just room for the bus, wheels are chocked and we're off. The current is strong and swirling, the ferry is pushed sideways at all angles, the driver is whizzing the wheel round and back trying to aim the boat at the slipway on the other side.
I had been warned that the wooden seats are horribly uncomfortable, so I should make sure I find cushion sellers before boarding. Oh dear, no sign of cushion sellers, should have brought our own. We will be on the boat for 8 hours, going to be a bit sore by the time we get to Luang Prabang! We all climb into the boat.
as the river is obviously very low, forcing him to navigate the channels deep enough for the full boat.
The views are staggeringly vast and beautiful. But more of that in the next blog. The slow boat down the Mekong River deserves a blog of it's own. bfn, All the Best to you all, John
Already inside Laos and up at 6.15, the group set breakfast at 7 is part of the trip deal - 2 fried eggs each on a piece of bread, banana and coffee....hmmm, not enough for me but no time to ask for more.
Bus leaves at 7.30, soon we have to cross a tributary river on a very old ferry, which arrives from the other side after a long wait.
You can see the Argentinian lady taking a photo while one of the German ladies gets ready to jump. A hairy crossing but we live.
Our last journey in the bus takes us to the Mekong River, where we are to embark on a slow boat to Luang Prabang. Here is the boat, it must be 50 metres long, wow.
I had been warned that the wooden seats are horribly uncomfortable, so I should make sure I find cushion sellers before boarding. Oh dear, no sign of cushion sellers, should have brought our own. We will be on the boat for 8 hours, going to be a bit sore by the time we get to Luang Prabang! We all climb into the boat.
It's already packed. And a pleasant surprise, the seats are old car seats! We find empty seats with a table between in the middle of the boat. Ideal. (well, they become empty when I ask the occupants sprawled over two seats if we could share! no problem, they are nice people, one American/Russian, the other Chinese)
The boat sets off down-river into the fast flowing Mekong. The driver is at the front and he needs all his skills and experience,
The views are staggeringly vast and beautiful. But more of that in the next blog. The slow boat down the Mekong River deserves a blog of it's own. bfn, All the Best to you all, John
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