On the Mekong from Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos

After a great week in Chiang Mai, our journey continued to Laos. We strolled through the nice little alleys of the old town and occasionally took small tours into the countryside, among others to a high ropes course in the mountains. We flew spectacularly through or over the rainforest on sometimes very long and high ropes. It was a lot of fun.

Now we wanted to go to the Thai-Laotian border by bus and then take a slow boat on the Mekong River (according to the travel guide 'the mother of all waters') to Luang Prabang. We decided against a flight because we wanted to see some of the country and we have sooo much time! ;). On the first day, we stopped at the 'White Temple' at noon. Very, very impressive! In the evening, we arrived in Chiang Khong, not a very impressive town on the border. The rooms were assigned to us in a -politely speaking- simple guesthouse. We had to drink the room beautiful, which we succeeded in doing with plenty of beer. We had a long and extensive conversation with Henk in a bar, a Dutchman who has been living in Thailand for several years and who, like us, was glad to be able to speak German again.

The next morning, after a lot of bureaucracy at the border, we got on the rustic boat, which was equipped with discarded car seats, at noon. There were 70 to 80 people on board, at least 95% of whom could have been our children. We had nice conversations and received some interesting information about the country and its people. Unfortunately, the weather got worse, so we arrived at our overnight destination after about six hours in drizzle. The hotel was no better than the day before, but you get used to it. The next day was fantastic. In the best weather, with nice conversations, reading and simply enjoying the untouched rainforest shimmering in many shades of green, we cruised through the Laotian mountain world. Terms like calming, magical, meditative were heard.

In the afternoon, we arrived happily in Luang Prabang. Our, this time very good hotel (for the equivalent of 9 € per person including breakfast) is located near the old town. So far, we have a very good impression of the city. It's funny because you meet fellow passengers from the boat everywhere and greet or chat briefly.

For tomorrow, we have rented a scooter and want to explore the surrounding area; there are supposed to be a cave and great waterfalls here.