shooting rapids on the Mekong!

We chose the slow boat to come to Laos from the north of Thailand. Charming. A 50 metre-long steel-hulled, diesel-powered boat with a beam of about five metres and draught of probably 1.5m. Crammed full of teak pews and tourists, the boat set off at midday after we'd boarded a couple of hours earlier, having cleared Laos immigration before that. The trip was to last two days, with a stop at Pak Beng, a river town isolated but for river traffic.

The Mekong's a powerful river, especially during the monsoon, though Laos people have since told us that the river's flow is dictated more by Chinese hydro-power requirements than by rainfall. Swirling with whirlpools and eddies, cut by standing waves barely concealing snags and rocks and peppered with flotsam large and small, the river's not somewhere you'd choose to swim. Treacherous. It's the colour of strong tea with condensed milk. We got close to the action by sitting on the prow of the boat for a couple of hours during the trip, Em's suggestion and with the hard-won permission of the captain. The river is the main means of communication in these parts - there are no roads (the terrain being so steep), and all commerce and transport proceed via the Mekong. It seems everyone's got a boat, of which there seem to be only about five designs, from canoe- to freighter-sized, so whether fishing, working or going to school, it's on the water. The boatmanship is incredible too - shooting the rapids is no exaggeration, and the way Mr. Captain and his son handled our vessel was truly expert. Thankfully!

As it has been throughout our time in Thailand and Laos, the scenery was a blowout! Very steep hills both sides, sheer cliffs at times, lushly green whether cultivated or wild jungle, and seemingly always capped by either morning mist or thunderheads. Settlements along the way ranged in size from around 200 people at Pak Beng to single houses, nearly all made from teak and bamboo, roofed with banana-leaves and surrounded by just enough carefully cultivated crop to support a family.

So we're in Luang Prabang now, the end of our river journey. Back to the world of broadband and backpackers for a short time before we head somewhere more remote again.