Monday - Feb 8 Afternoon - Visit Pak Ou Buddha Caves

We are nearing Laung Prabang but stop at Pak Ou Buddha caves. The caves house 1,000s of Buddha statues, icons, and stupas. Many are old and this is their last stop. There are two caves...the lower one is a steep walk up 100 steps. The upper cave is a small hike up steeper steps ...about 1/4 mile. Walking to the upper caves area vendors selling various items including small birds in a cage. For $1US you get to buy the cage and release the bird...people are discouraged from buying the cages because it encourages the practice. Enjoy the pictures...

Monday - Feb 8 - 2nd Day Cruising down the Mekong River

Our 2nd and last day cruising down the Mekong. Pictures of fishermen,water oxen, leisure activities,etc. The river narrow in places with class 2 rapids. There are no channel markers on the river and the ship's safety is on the captain's reading of the river and currents.

Had a home cooked meal on-board cooked by the Captain's wife -pumpkin soup,a superb pork curry currents.

Sunday Evening - Feb 7 - Overnight Stopover in Pak Beng - River Town

Arrive PakBeng....hire 2 young kids to carry each of bags up the long hill...worth every penny...10,000kip = $1.25. They were happy as clams...hardworking...one of the pictures shows the 2 boys. We stayed at a nice guest house,Sivongsack, which is clean and has nice sized rooms.

PakBeng is a small village of 2,000 people but is growing fast. Two years ago there were only 3 guest houses...now there are at least 30 and the town is busy at night as boats going from Houay Xai to Loaung Prabang and in the opposite direction use this small town as a stop over point. PB is a fun town with adventuresome travelers enjoying the restaurants and bars of this small river town.

Dinner at a local restaurant followed by a "pub crawl"with the younger members of our group.We try the local whiskey which you can light with a match...was tasty and had a nice bouquet.

See the sunset over the Mekong river...just beautiful.

In the morning, we have breakfast and the same 2 boys carrying our bags down to the boat. The weather is cool with some fog and boat activity is already brisk on the river.

Sunday through Mid-Day - Feb 7 - Begin our Mekong River Cruise

Off we go to catch our boat for a memorable trip down the Mekong River. This trip is listed in the book "1,000 Places to See before you die".

The boat is much more than any of us expected.....immaculately clean, roomy and comfortable. Our group are the only passengers and we have all the comforts one could imagine...we relax.... each doing our own thing...reading, knitting, playing the guitar, singing, talking...what a great trip. See the view from the boat's bridge, the river and the boat's interior.

Along the way we stop at a small Chamu village, Ban Houy Phalan, that has about 350 residents. The village is supported by the government who provides the basics of running water,toilets and schooling. One thing that one notices is that the people are clean as is the entire village...most villagers are farmers or cut lumber in the jungle---see picture that divides jungle (green) from cultivation areas (yellow). Pictures include a woman drying and separating rice from husks, a family, blacksmith, gentleman washing at central water facility and "the woman in the window".

Off we go in order to arrive at our intermediate overnight destination of Pak Beng by 5PM.

Feb 6 -Saturday PM - Arrive Huay Xai,Laos

Pass through Thai border and have passports exit stamps applied. We head across the Mekong river in a long-tail boat. We arrive in Huay Xai, Laos; my first time visiting Laos. The process to acquire a Laotian entrance visa was straight forward- $36 US and stamped visa added to passport. Exchange $100US for 846,000 Laotian kip currency...I feel very wealthy and am ready to have good time. We are transported to our hotel in a tuk-tuk truck.

We stay at the Arimid Guest House which has individual bungalows which are quite comfortable. Had my 1st introduction to a wet room which is a toilet, vanity and shower in one tiled room with no dividing walls between various fixtures. After we checked-in, two backpackers asked about a room's price ...owner quoted 80,000kip...they turned it down...that's about $9.50/night for 2....they must have been traveling on a tight budget. As you can see from the pictures, the rooms and amenities are quite nice.

Had a neat dinner,Sindath, at a riverside restaurant.The dinner included various meats and vegetables and can be best described as a steamer fondue. Picture shows Sue Edwards and I cooking...Sue's husband,George,is a veggie...no fish or meat. Many backpackers,old and young, traveling throughout SE Asia. Met a nice couple from England who I shared a nice bottle of wine with before heading back to my room and bed. You can find some decent bottles of wine here at reasonable prices...remember the French had a major presence here. BeerLao is a great beer...I already know that my time in Laos will be liquid refreshing....aaaaah.