Third world travel on the Mekong River en route to Luang Prabang, northern Laos

I am in a third world country. Thailand was so easy in comparison but the beauty of Laos is that is much more raw. Until two nights ago, my accommodations have been first world top tier quality. Approaching Laos, things quickly changed. At the Thai- Laos border at Chiang Khong and last night in Pak Beng, the midpoint to Luang Prabang, only guest house levels exist so if one wants to see this part of the world, these are the only options. Only the intrepid traveler could handle these basic places. Luckily I still feel young and adventurous. Not sure many of my friends could handle this kind of travel(I find it very, very challenging!) but I can think of a few who could hang…maybe.

I definitely feel like I’m in another world. Yesterday was another incredible day. After passing customs, we stopped at a tiny local village with the indigenous people called ** in **?. The simplicity of their lives moved me. We observed them as much as they observed us. The smiles of the children brought a smile to my own face. I liked that none of the children or adults peddled for money and went about their regular activities. The village stop was a unique opportunity to see genuine, unspoilt life as it exists here in Laos.

I almost winced when I saw our guesthouse in Pak Beng but this is the not so pleasant part of traveling off the beaten path and I signed up for this. This is probably the ugliest place that I’ve stayed in my life – I was pushing my comfort level. There were dead remnants of mosquitoes on the wall. The last time I stayed at such a gross place was in Split, Croatia, with Greg. I did my best to research quality accommodations but one star quality was the best that I could find -- it was pretty gross! However, it was a place to rest my head after a long day and nothing else. As anticipated, the lights went out at 10:00pm and came back on at 6:00am. Trying to find the bathroom in the middle of the night was challenge! One of the guys told me he almost put his foot in the toilet(how does that happen?). Luckily, the guesthouse was safe, sort of clean, quiet and had a comfortable bed. This morning, I saw the largest spider I’ve ever seen in the breakfast room of the guest house. I don’t know how I would have reacted if I had seen it in my room. This and the overnight train were tough nights and I did not sleep or relax much.

It is now Saturday morning and we are on the boat again. I can’t believe that I am on the Mekong River!! I never thought that I would be here – almost feels surreal. It is cold and windy with a thick cloudy haze. Rocks are juxtaposed to my left and right, with a layer of sand between the thick forests that dominates the landscape of the country.

Later this evening we will arrive at one of the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Laos: Luang Prabang.

Arrived in Luang Prabang
Please excuse the typos as I am typing quickly and am not editing my work. I’ve had limited internet time but luckily I brought my computer so I’ve had some time to write down a majority of my activities.

I can’t believe it is already Saturday night. The week has passed so quickly but yet I’ve already seen so much. I decided to go on this trip in mid January and booked it towards the end of January. Again, can’t believe that I’m really here. It is difficult to describe and absorb all that I’ve seen and experienced. I need to get to an internet café to book my ticket back to Bangkok from Hanoi. Then I need to book my Bordeaux flight. I think I might stop in NY for two or three nights to rest and study but I’m torn between staying here and exploring more of SE Asia since I am already in the neighborhood. I’ll check into flights tomorrow and base my decision on availability and price. Not sure where I'll spend my birthday but would like to be with loved ones.

I’m finally in Luang Prabang and our “villa” is very clean and comfortable – a welcome amenity of a larger city. I’m sharing a room with a nice woman from Norway. Up until today, I’ve luckily been placed in a single. Stephanie and I shared a room the entire trip but it has been a while since I’ve shared a room with anyone while traveling. Given the dynamics of this trip, it works well and I’m lucky that Monika is a sweetie.

We made two stops today on the Mekong before arriving to our destination. The first after lunch was at the Pak Ou caves. Maybe I was tired but this site with 4,000 Buddha statues was underwhelming other than the caves which housed it. I made my second purchase of the trip, a silk scarf, at the rice wine/embroidery village. The hard selling made it a bit much less authentic although the quality/price ratio was ridiculously competitive: $5 for my scarf. I would have purchased more if we had more time. Dinner tonight was good. Had a dish of morning glory, one of the most unusual but delicious veggies that I’ve ever tried. Also tried the fruit tamarind(tastes like a prune), water buffalo and crispy Mekong river moss for the first time.

I quickly saw the stock market and saw a headline about Berkshire profit plunging 96% as Buffett wrote down derivatives positions(shares have plunged 44 percent in the past 12 months) and Citi hitting $1.50. What a crazy time in the markets! And banks, two down, ten to go? Hopefully, I was right about moving my portfolio to an all cash position mid last year. If I had more risk appetite, I would have shorted the market long ago.

P.S. This is a very dusty and smoky country! I'm not certain if this is from slash and burn farming but there is a everpresent smoke in the air.

Moving towards the Thailand-Laos border with a cooking class in Chiang Mai

Sabai-di, hello from Lao(s) – the “s” in Laos is silent. I’m on an eight hour slow boat along the Mekong River headed SE to Pakbeng, a small town that only has electricity during the limited hours from 6-10pm and 6-10am. Laos still lacks development in many places. In many rural areas electricity is unavailable or offered only during scheduled periods. We’ll be staying a basic guesthouse. I exchanged a little bit of money at the border: the Laos kip is 8500 kip to $1 USD,

This morning was pretty mellow. I woke up at 6:45am and started downloading some photos onto flickr. I have so many photos it made sense to have a membership with a photo management site. I took a shower in my bathroom; it had no separation from the shower and was all one unit. The guesthouse provided me with rubber bath slippers to use while inside. Very strange!

I called my mom quickly this morning and in a member of senioritis, she thought I was still in Italy!! We left around 7:45am to leave Thailand immigration and took a longboat across the Mekong to Laos, where I purchased my Laos same day visa for $30 USD. We then took a Songthaews (pick-up trucks with benches) to the “slow “ boat that we are on now. It seems relatively fast and I’ve seen small villages and cattle thus far.

Yesterday, I woke up at 8am to be ready for a Thai cooking class. A tuk-tuk picked us up from the hotel promptly at 9am. After an informative visit to a local produce market and education on Thai ingredients, we started cooking. I made my first Thai meal ever: spicy coconut soup, green curry chicken, pad thai, spring rolls, and sweet sticky rice with mango. Yummmm. I did an excellent job!! I briefly fantasized about drinking a Donnhoff Riesling but reality quickly set in. We didn’t finish the course completely as we needed to meet the others at 1pm.


In the afternoon, we took a five hour minivan ride to Chiang Kong. We stopped at a cashew factory, where I purchased dried ginger and a favorite treat from my childhood, dried preserved plum, common in Hawaii. Our next stop was the Wat Rong Khun, the craziest looking temple that I’ve ever seen; if the wicked white witch has a castle, this is it! I had a visual of the Narnia series with Angelina Jolie starring as the wicked witch. There were skulls and outstretched arms at the entrance, perhaps representing purgatory. At the base of the staircase were two creepy gargoyles. On the left was a male with a serpent head on his penis and on the left, a woman with her left breast grossly disfigured and sagging.

We arrived to our guesthouse in Chiang Kong around 6pm. I saw the muddy but peaceful Mekong River for the first time. We stayed at the Rimnam Guesthouse with views of the river. The room was spartan but clean.

Dinner was very good. I shared a local snapper with lime and ginger with mixed vegetables with Mimi, from New Jersey. Total price with a large Singha beer was 210 Baht, about $6 USD, each. Given the size of our group(16 total), we ordered ahead of time and we were asked to return in 30-40 minutes. I looked at some clothes at a local shop but decided to spend my 30 minutes at a massage shop across the street from the restaurant. I think I’m addicted to foot massages… what a perfect commencement to dinner. I was tired so I went to bed early with only the fan; there was no AC at the guesthouse. Snoooooze, the sheets and pillowcase smelled like Dove soap. I was a sleepyhead.

I hope that etrade comes through with sending me a new atm card in Hanoi. I haven’t tried it yet, but American Express premium global assist confirmed a link to my checking account and will let me withdraw up to $500 with a one time pin. I will try to use it in Luang Prabang. In the meanwhile, I have about $200 cash.

The fifteen people in my group are nice, as is my tour leader. Listed are their names and nationalities(and their ages, if I know it(Arn did most of the due diligence):

1- Mimi- USA
2- Mike-, Canada, Calgary, 70
3- Ron- USA, 64
4- Arn-UK, 24
5- Dawn-UK, 37
6- Mark- Ireland, 29
7- Fiona- Ireland, 30
8- Gary- Canada, 62
9- Jim- Canada
10- Jill- Canada
11- Victor- Canada, Lithuania, 80 – what an inspiring trooper!
12- Leni- Norway
13- Monika – Norway, 26
14- Karen- Norway
15- Elisa- USA
16- Derek, tour leader- Canada

The youngest is 24 years old and the oldest is 80!

Again, I’m grateful for this opportunity to be travelling. I’m so enjoying this Mekong river ride as it is a wonderful opportunity to see the landscape of Laos.

Soht dii(thank you) for tuning in…


From Tuesday…

I’m on my way to Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand, a city that serves as a gateway to Myanmar, Laos, and western China. We are on board a national Thai train in second class sleeper cars. At 9pm, someone will connect the seats to make a bed. I’m excited for this trip and I like the idea of going with GAP Adventures. Accommodations will be fairly basic but real.

I woke up early this morning to leave Phuket for Bangkok. I negotiated a fare from Surin Beach to the airport for 450 Baht, although the advertised rate was 600 Bht. I’ve found people amenable to a 20 to 25% discount on the asking price but I’ve found more success by determining a fair price, lowering that, and using that as a base for negotiation. I made some new friends in Phuket(hi Jeanette, Dave and Brian) and I hope to return soon!