"The team" with Diego & Betinha
The Mekong River is the division line between countries and the recommended way to get to Laos. It’s one of the most important and transited rivers in the region since it connects Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to end up in a huge delta in the outskirts of Saigon.
Overnight at the boarder (on the Laos side), a good chance to visit a budhist temple on the hill.
Slow boat is the glamorous transport to cruise along the river.
It takes a 2 days trip on these wooden, 20 meters long boats. Inside the boat facilities are quite basic, just some old sits, some lying areas, a fire kitchen (yes, to cook rice you light a bushfire in the boat!!) and a bar serving cool drinks and some chips. The boat is normally run by a Lao family who actually lives there, coming and going everyday along the Mekong River.
Along the way there are several stops in tiny villages on the riverside, where locals hop on and off. The boat serves as their public transport in this area, to transport supplies to their villages and it’s an income source since there’s always a traveler that would appreciate a cold beer...
Every stop is a temptation. We could see the small houses lost in the mountain. Rice fields, banana trees and coconut palms spread all over. It would have been interesting to spend some days in one of these lost villages and share time with their people. Not this time but recommendable for the next explorer.
Following Betinhia and Diegos’ friends recommendation we took the front of the boat, the “living room”. What a good recommendation! Lying on wooden floor with nice view and close to the captain is much better than sitting in a hard sit with a loud engine on your back.
There we met the Portuguese family. Ivo, Margarida and Martin (1,5 year old). Whenever you find a young couple travelling with its baby is a good sign. Not everybody is brave enough to get into such a journey with a kid, and the ones who go for it know what’s travelling about. In this case Ivo was the experienced in the subject. He had lived some years in s.e asia, visited and experienced most of the destinations. Cool stories about old Laos, Lords of opium and boarders guerrillas.
On the way we had to stop for the night. This was probably the saddest moment in the trip. Argentina played against Germany..., you know the result. Many Germans around... Not much to say about it, just wait until the next one.
So the days went smoothly enjoying the view, sharing some food with the family and sunbathing in the front garden of the boat.
Ahh, of course! It's not a real boat trip if there's no storm!
So far boat was the best transport we used, it’s beautiful to witness what happens in the coast of this famous river in slow motion!
