Life along the Mekong
Trip Start
Dec 21, 2003
1
3
Trip End
Dec 27, 2003
Pakbeng to Huay Xai, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Well, I was able to slip upriver in relative peace, excluding the occasional speed boat that roared past with helmet wearing passengers (who looked scared to death) and over anxious looking boat drivers. We spent about 8 hours each day on the river, each day reaching our destination just before dark. There were a few other tourists on the boat too, but mostly locals using the boat as transport back to their villages. We stopped to drop these locals off along the way, some carrying live chickens on their laps, others toting goods like blankets and cooking pots from the city. Such a contrast when you see these passengers next to their families on the riverbank. They're usually dressed in jeans and tennis shoes, while their family members are dressed in nothing but a sarong, both men and women. Life seemed so simple in these villages. As simple as life looked, though, I don't think I could live this kind of life. The extreme simplicity of life out there is unbelievable. 7 year old children are out in the middle of nowhere guiding their own 20 foot long boat with a bamboo rod, open pit fires used for cooking, thatch roof houses with open sides, electricity only until 10pm (and this is only for the most modern villages). These people intrigue me, their way of life, their resiliency, their sheer determination and ability to live here generation after generation. This is one of the few times I can honestly say that the JOURNEY was the best part of the trip, not the destination.
I decided to ferry across to the Thai border 10 minutes before the immigration office was closing. It was a last minute decision -- it seems like a lot of things on this trip are like that. I guess that's been the coolest part about traveling. I have no idea what's going to happen next, who I'll meet, where I'll end up sleeping or what tuk tuk I'll end up in. It's all been spur of the moment decisions, chance encounters, destiny? It's been too good, I just hope it continues. Heading to the town of Mae Sai in the early morning, the most northern town in Thailand, they say you can enter Burma for the day from there. Not quite sure how I'll be getting there though, tell you in a few days.
