I have been waiting for this one for a long time. We booked a slow boat down the Mekong River with the Nagi - a tourist specific boat that has a few more creature comforts and space than the cheaper public boat option.
There's something about being on a riverboat that really drives home the point that David Wilcox was singing about. I know of no better mode of transportation experience for me than to take in the countryside as we meander down a river in a boat. And this boat seemed ideal (though Beth had her worries, but I will get into that in a later post!) - big, comfortable reappropriated minivan seats, spacious and friendly crew to boot.
The river was beautiful. There were ragged limestone teeth throughout, creating large eddies and some pretty strong currents. The pilot, an older guy who had been driving the Nagi for 9 years, would steer from the front while the rudder and engine were about 30 to 40 meters back. It did not look like an easy job to control the boat, because we were travelling with the river at its low point (some 5-8 meters below the high point at the end of the rainy season) he had to draw on years of experience and of course his depth guage, gps and maps to steer us safely down towards Pak Beng, our halfway stop for the night.
Right before lunch me stopped at a local village and had a walk around. It was pretty reminiscent of visiting hill tribes in Thailand and Myanmar in the past - there was poverty for sure by our standards, but a lot of happy kids and seemingly well fed villagers. This village had about 50 people and primarily lived off farming and a little fishing. It was interesting to see our kids reactions - they could see both sides of the poverty and happiness situation. I think if you were healthy, it would be a fine place to grow up if you didn't know much about the outside world. But if you were sick or had special needs, it would be a different story for sure.
Abby felt very hot during our walk so Beth and her walked back to the boat. Robin found some kids to entertain with her inferior hula hooping skills! On our way out, a local man came out of the fields with a pig that was screaming at the top of his lungs. Our guide explained that there was a family with a sick member and they would be making a pork soup to help get him or her better tonight. The pig clearly knew where he was headed and was not happy. Robin did not seem too good with the situation.
Back on the boat we had lunch, sticking to mostly vegetarian, though we did have some tasty river fish that I assume didn't scream when perishing and perhaps had died of old age... Gulp... Kept thinking of that pig.
We gave Abby some meds - she was running a bit of a fever, though I was more worried about Beth administering so many temperature readings from the ear thermometer. With all the readings we could create a very detailed patient chart. Her fever came down in short order and she was back to herself in a couple of hours (maybe she was trying to get out of math homework... No, wrong kid). Beth bounced back shortly after and was back in smiling mode. It's really hard to get down on this amazing little trip.
We are at the "best" hotel in Pak Beng, the Mekong Riverside Lodge. It has a fantastic review, though the rooms are not air conditioned and thus have mosquito nets. It hasn't seemed very buggy here so I'm not too worried, but it will probably be a hot night!
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