So...everyone tells you "take the slow boat! It is beautiful...!" So true. What they forget (kind of like after having a baby) is that it is also painful. You sit on a hard wooden chair made for a pre-schooler...for eight hours! See proof above. This wasn't even the boat we were on the entire time...just the one that transported us to it! Our boat was even worse....I sat on a lifejacket that looked like it had sunk to the bottom of the ocean and been trampled on by a herd of horses (ie..covered in slime and flat as a pancake).
Okay...so yes, it is very pretty! We also met a great couple from Switzerland...Bart and Marianne. We chatted away with them, which really helped the time pass.
You would think that a long skinny "slow boat" made out of flimsy wood would do best going down a nice deep easy to navigate river. Oh no! We hit every obstacle possible! Above we grounded as the water was low. All the men (ha ha...not the ladies!) had to get out and push. We later encountered rapids....good times.
Out boat....the driver is at the back of the boat (they siphoned gas in as needed...which was cool considering that it was kept in gas cans...and the dreadlock dudes at the back kept smoking cigarettes) We sat on the teeny tiny little wooden chairs above.
Water buffalo...if I were to be an animal in Laos...this is it. They literally live under water... usually only their noses and horns can be seen. In this hot climate they are in heaven!
We encountered all kinds of people and boats as we cruised along....people fishing with nets (never actually saw them catch anything..but big "A" for effort!). Twice our driver yelled "Pa!" and his son climbed up on to the flimsy roof and ran over our heads (scary) to grab a net and pick up a big dead (floating on the surface and smelly)...fish. Dinner anyone?
As we got closer to Nong Khiaw the jungle grew thicker...and the limestone cliffs grew tall! We saw emerald colored birds, and flocks of butterflies.
Dredging for gold. So here we are....Laos has a poverty level of 40%...passing huts and naked children, when we come upon this. Not just one.....MANY. They are literally digging the river up. In Nong Khiaw we learned that the Vietnamese talked many of the villagers into going in on one of these operations. They had to front a million kip...which is a lot of money. Then the Vietnamese left the country...with their money. Rough.
Little naked village kids. So cute! They yell out "Sabai-dii!" which means "hello!" Our swiss friends gave them big pieces of chalk...they looked at it with awe. They look at us with such big eyes!
Butt has sores on it at this point...but yes, it is pretty! Almost there....
Petroglyphs....red hands and a bull. The crazy thing is that this is on a limestone cliff about 30 feet above the water. Our guess was that at some point, the river level was higher? Either that or the villagers could fly.....! We arrived at Nong Khiaw....not your typical tourist spot...the adventure continues!
So...everyone tells you "take the slow boat! It is beautiful...!" So true. What they forget (kind of like after having a baby) is that it is also painful. You sit on a hard wooden chair made for a pre-schooler...for eight hours! See proof above. This wasn't even the boat we were on the entire time...just the one that transported us to it! Our boat was even worse....I sat on a lifejacket that looked like it had sunk to the bottom of the ocean and been trampled on by a herd of horses (ie..covered in slime and flat as a pancake).
Okay...so yes, it is very pretty! We also met a great couple from Switzerland...Bart and Marianne. We chatted away with them, which really helped the time pass.
You would think that a long skinny "slow boat" made out of flimsy wood would do best going down a nice deep easy to navigate river. Oh no! We hit every obstacle possible! Above we grounded as the water was low. All the men (ha ha...not the ladies!) had to get out and push. We later encountered rapids....good times.
Out boat....the driver is at the back of the boat (they siphoned gas in as needed...which was cool considering that it was kept in gas cans...and the dreadlock dudes at the back kept smoking cigarettes) We sat on the teeny tiny little wooden chairs above.
Water buffalo...if I were to be an animal in Laos...this is it. They literally live under water... usually only their noses and horns can be seen. In this hot climate they are in heaven!
We encountered all kinds of people and boats as we cruised along....people fishing with nets (never actually saw them catch anything..but big "A" for effort!). Twice our driver yelled "Pa!" and his son climbed up on to the flimsy roof and ran over our heads (scary) to grab a net and pick up a big dead (floating on the surface and smelly)...fish. Dinner anyone?
As we got closer to Nong Khiaw the jungle grew thicker...and the limestone cliffs grew tall! We saw emerald colored birds, and flocks of butterflies.
Dredging for gold. So here we are....Laos has a poverty level of 40%...passing huts and naked children, when we come upon this. Not just one.....MANY. They are literally digging the river up. In Nong Khiaw we learned that the Vietnamese talked many of the villagers into going in on one of these operations. They had to front a million kip...which is a lot of money. Then the Vietnamese left the country...with their money. Rough.
Little naked village kids. So cute! They yell out "Sabai-dii!" which means "hello!" Our swiss friends gave them big pieces of chalk...they looked at it with awe. They look at us with such big eyes!
Butt has sores on it at this point...but yes, it is pretty! Almost there....
Petroglyphs....red hands and a bull. The crazy thing is that this is on a limestone cliff about 30 feet above the water. Our guess was that at some point, the river level was higher? Either that or the villagers could fly.....! We arrived at Nong Khiaw....not your typical tourist spot...the adventure continues!
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