Cruising the Mekong

27th – 28th February

Shompoo Cruise river boat

I had ordered a breakfast of coffee and fruit salad for breakfast and the coffee had barely been put

been put on my table when I overheard a tuk tuk driver walking past the other tables with a sign with names and saying “Shompoo cruise” Identifying that he might be looking for me, it seemed that he was expecting me to leave shortly. Given that it was 8:15am and I had been told a 9:30 pick up, I hurried only slightly and was ready, checked out and waiting. We left at 8:45am and although we seemed to go via a large number of backstreets to pick up others, no one was ready and I was the first passenger on the boat.

The boat landing at Houay Xai

My first impressions were that it looked nice. The seats were high, as they were on the bus. My feet did not touch floor – I am not sure who designed them or for whom, but for many it must be very uncomfortable.

By about 10am, all the passengers are abroad and we cast off.

Our guide, Mr Daeng (Cam) gives us a bit of background about Laos and the cultural diversity: as for both Thailand and Vietnam, there is a huge number of ethnic groups with a great diversity of languages. The greatest proportion are still farmers.

River activities

He talks a little about the damming of the Mekong upstream in China. It is the dry season now, there has been little rain and the Chinese have shut the dams and reduced the flow of the river even further. This impacts on boat traffic: there are areas of Rapids we will need to navigate and the speedboats often have accidents as the driver has insufficient visibility.

Further impact on villagers will come as more dams are built, including these planned for Laos. Fishing will be reduced and a significant source of protein for the villagers will be lost. We see some of the traditional fishing poles and nets and I recall reading somewhere that the use of these is being prohibited after dam construction, the suggestion being that ecological surveys of fish populations will show less impact from the dam construction.

Traditional fishing equipment

Dam construction will also reduce the riverboat traffic and the accessibility of some areas to tourists. This will further impact the economy of these villages.

And villagers are being relocated to towns: a recipe for social problems as traditional farmers are faced with a different life style and cannot find work as they have few transferable skills. There is the suggestion that the government cares more about income from the hydro electricity from these dams than for the impact on the people.

River beach

As we travel down stream, we pass from fairly flat to more hilly areas and the point at which the Thai border diverts from the river and we are now true in Laos. The occasional speedboat passes us, creating a small wash that affects even our larger boat.

We stop to pay taxes at a village (more taxes) and we hear more about how the tax money does not benefit most of the people. There is a pension scheme for government workers, but none for others. School attendance requires fees to b paid and it seems that many of the minority groups are at a disadvantage when it comes to school. Free schooling is provided for monks and this is an option for boys from poorer families. Monastic education in Laos does include the non-secular subjects and there is no requirement for a boy to remain in the monastic community past when he is ready to move on.

Villages nestled amongst the vegetation

Tranquil reflections

Lunch Is served on board, Lao food, but made bland for the tourists. Shame, I might see what I can negotiate tomorrow!

The countryside becomes a little more rugged and tiny villages appear along the river, high enough, generally, to be above the summer floods. The rocks by the river are sedimentary, tilted at around 45degrees. Evidence of a geographically tumultuous past. There are some houses which are in the flood plain area, people will move from these when the rain comes.... They are nomads, says Cam Daeng.

We pass rubber and banana plantations but the biggest crop is sticky rice, which is slash and burn agriculture on a 3-4 year rotation. Not much of the forest loos to be old growth, although all is very green. Small shelter huts are in evidence for the farmers to spend the night to scare of marauding birds and animals and to clean off the insects.

Marks on the cliffs and beaches give an approximate idea of the river level when it is in flood.

There are areas of the river which are approaching being Rapids, and our captain negotiates these carefully and at an even slower pace. However there is still the occasional ominous noise that sounds a little like a bottom scrape.

Approaching the rapids

The range of boats on the river is huge, from simple small canoe like structures to outriggers, to the bigger longboats, the riverboats like we are on and the Occasionally much larger vessel, including one very flash looking boat that has passenger accommodation. Our boat is the home for the captain and his family, who appear to be viewing cruising the Mekong on a Saturday afternoon as an opportunity for a bit of a party.

We stop to visit a Khmu village .... The Laos have a slightly different name for this minority group which originally came from what is now Cambodia some 700 years ago and are known in other areas as Khmer.

Speedboats: drivers but not passengers wear helmets

just lovely scenery

It's a new village, relocated from a 4 hour walk up the hills on the opposite side of the river. Their relocation is related to discourage their production and consumption of opium and what I interpret to be marijuana. The cruise company supports this village with 2% of their income from cruises and visitors are encouraged to contribute to the education fund via the donations box but I am somewhat concerned about the number of small children who are begging. Given that the village shops sell canned soft drink and junk food, and there are adults sitting on the veranda drinking beer, that the level of poverty is somewhat driven by choice. It is interesting to hear that pregnancy rates average around one per year but child mortality and childbirth death is common. Healthcare must be paid for, but most villages have a shaman who is skilled in herbal medicine.

Working river boat

The houses are simple bamboo houses, on stilts. One room only which may house a family of around 15 and this room served for cooking, sleeping and general living. We had the "honeymoon house" pointed out. I guess that if you are living in such crowded quarters, a little privacy just after your wedding would be desirable.

I inquire subsequently about crafts and it appears that this village had no such skills. That's a shame, as this could potentially provide pocket money that the begging is seeking.

We resume our cruise and arrive at the halfway point /overnight stop at around 4:30. We are informed that porters will come to carry our bags. When my porter gets to the top of the steps and puts my bag down to pull it over the rough ground, I suggest that I will do that myself, so he picks it up again. Then he asks for more money after I pay him the amount we were told. I clarify with the reception staff that I have the amount correct and he acquiesces.

Just part of the family that live in this small bamboo house

The room is small but neat, nicer than last night, and the shared balcony overlooks the Main Street and gives glimpses of the river. Wifi semi-works on the balcony but not in my room.

I go to explore the town: a task that takes no more than half an hour, including watching the anticipation of small children who are awaiting the inflation of what looks to be a jumping castle.

I return to the guest house and watch the world go by. The backpackers from the cheaper slow boat arriving, the lady in a restaurant across the street actively touting for business, a local lady attempting to sell a giant mole to the restaurants and of course the ubiquitous motorbikes transporting up to 4 people.

One of the village honeymoon houses

One couple from the cruise indicate they have gone looking for the party bar, but it does not open until 9 pm!

Working out the shower took a little time. First I thought that being at the end of the veranda, the hot water was taking a while to come through, but then decided I must have an on-demand hot water heater hidden behind the shower wall, as low pressure yielded much warmer water than turning the hot tap on full.

Pak Beng main (only) road

My accommodation is a package with dinner and breakfast provided, but I am disappointed with the food. Chicken wings have been coated in batter and deep fried sometime in the past and the Lao curry is definitely the tourist version even though I requested the local version. It was served with a side dish of sliced chilli but this does not substitute well for cooking the curry with chilli. The breakfast claimed "home made jam", which I seriously doubted, and my scrambled eggs was an omelette. Dinner came with a drink: coke, sprite or beer. I tried the beer, but was a little disappointed. It did not taste like the Thai beer. And of course nothing tastes like Bhutan's Druk 11000, which I quite like.

I decline the services of a porter for the morning and return for our 7:15am boarding. The manoeuvring of the boat from its tight morning between other boats is interesting to observe and we putter upstream a little way until the boat can turn.

Pak Beng from the river

As we head downstream there is some stunning early morning light on the hills and on the river but it is chilly and my fellow passengers are rugged up against the cool breeze - the cruise provides fleece blankets for this.

Once again we pass through rapids, while few rocks are visible above the water, the turbulence is evidence of their presence and Cam says that maybe there is only 30-60 cm clearance for the boat.

Nice morning light on the river

There is more lovely scenery, tiny and not so tiny villages, quite a few other riverboats, boys and men attending their fishing gear, some evidence of larger trees and possibly old growth forest on some of the very steep slopes. And more intricate life stone formations along the river banks or protruding into the river.

We stop to visit Pak Du Cave – an upper cave and a lower cave. These caves are reputed to contain 4000 Buddha statues, with more being brought by pilgrims every year. On the path to the upper cave, children and ladies with little children and babies are selling stuff: rice cakes, banana chips, trinkets, all of which seem rather overpriced. I purchased a rice cake from one little girl and a whole hoard of other children descended on me with their wares, requesting me to buy them. Still, its much better than the begging that I experienced at the village the previous day.

Another passenger river boat

Shortly after this we stopped again at Kamu village to look at the lao whiskey production process and sample the product.

 The clear Lao whiskey, made from white rice, has all the redeeming features of rocket fuel and is very alcoholic. The the dark beverage, on the other hand, is a little more like sherry, not so alcoholic, but did not tempt me to buy a bottle.

Superb karst scenery

The village is also a weaving village and there was a long row of stalls of ladies selling their wares (and those of their sisters, aunts, second cousins twice removed … I suspect). I buy a very bright silk scarf for $US10, and a traditional skirt length for 80,000 kip before the guide comes running up the hill to tell me I have exceeded the allocated 20 minutes in the village. I think many of the ladies were disappointed, they had someone who was spending money!

Buddha statues in Pak Du Cave

The ability of the ladies to switch between baht, $ US and Kip impresses me, as it continued to in all the marketplaces I visited in Luang Prabang. Bartering is done with the aid of a calculator – not for calculating currency exchanges but for displaying the price under discussion. “Open to offers” or “your turn to bid a price” is achieved by handing the calculator to the potential customer – effective in the absence of a shared language and since tourists are from many different countries, language can be a barrier. I suspect that some of the minority group ladies may not even be fluent in the majority language.

There are a lot of vegetable gardens on the river banks, the sediments are presumably not as sandy as they look, although these gardens are flooded once the wet season starts (or when the Chinese open the dams upstream)

Elephants on an outing from their nearby camp

Upon arrival in Luang Prabang, a transfer was provided to our accommodation and the minivan driver looked horrified at my suitcase! Yes it is huge compared to the average traveller, and I feel compelled to explain to many people that it contains most of my worldly goods from living a year in another country.