Rolling, Rolling on the River
The 2 day Slow Boat was no pleasure cruise. Looking more like a floating house, we chugged down the river at a speed that put pins and needles in your ass. I resolved to practice my Buddhist calm. Despite this, I wouldn’t do it any other way – especially since I know what the other way is. The alternative, naturally, is the fast boat, a hell ride in a thin fiberglass coffin. And besides, the slow boat really gave me time to soak up the feel of the Mekong.
The river is a rich sienna colour, brown, the result of the silt runoff from the hills that edge the river. The Slow boats themselves add vibrancy to the river, painted in vivid, blues, reds and greens. In the evenings, as the sun only glances the river, its hue shifts to pewter. At occasional stops on the river local children sell snacks and Beer Laos through the windows. We were all in it together. Friendships were easy to make.
We stopped at Pakbeng, the halfway point, at the end of the first day. Debbie, Barbara, Janie and I took a family run guesthouse. They were so pleased for our business, you could tell they depended on it. Phonethip is 11 and very sweet. She is the family’s youngest daughter and the guesthouse is named after her. She can go to school on the days that enough money comes in from the guesthouse. She’s learning English and could hold a pretty good conversation with us. Looking up the dusty, derelict main road I got the feeling that she was her family’s hope. We bought our breakfast and lunch from them also so they earned a little more Kip.
The second day was no shorter than the first and probably longer. This boat was same same, but different, from the boat the day earlier. It was head-smackingly smaller, and so that much more overloaded. We had some laughs, read, drank Beer Laos, and frequently shifted our weight from left buttock to right. Sometimes I stole some freedom by sitting on the window ledge and hanging out the window, just looking, or sometimes dipping a hand in the silty river beneath me.
We arrived in Luang Prabang. Doesn’t that name roll nicely off the tongue?
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October 25th, 2004 at 8:27 am
That read like a piece of prose…there’s a poet in you after all! Sounds like a nice little adventure and your description of the family’s situation (whom you stayed with) is so like much of the family run accomodation! Let the adventure continue, I look forward to reading more soon-Joanna X.