It’s been a couple of days since I have posted anything. The post following this one will explain why!
The friendship bridge between Thailand and Laos.
The mighty Mekong River
Similar to the boat I am on.
Yes full. And mainly backpackers. After this trip was over I learned of another one that I probably would have preferred to be on. This one cost $25. “Smile Mekong” cost more but there is more room. Tables, food, western toilets (this one had squat toilets and nothing to hang onto) and they stop at a cave with Buddhist statues in it. This one only stopped to pickup more passengers.
Yep. It’s a real river with some minor rapids.
Restaurants on stilts.
Many places with sand built up. And some with water buffalo on them.
This is a high speed boat that takes people between villages. They probably go 50 mph and very hard to take photos of. Most of the captains/pilots/aimers wear helmets!
Engine trouble. Some of the westerners voiced their concern so I went and checked it out. The belt driven water pump that cools the engine had moved and one of the hoses came off. No big deal. Fixed within 15 minutes. So I passed on my findings and we were off again. “Anything possible Laos”. It’s a saying I hear whenever I travel to 2nd or 3rd world countries. “Anything possible Nepal, India, etc.”
New bridge being built. Old ferry soon to be out of business.
Overnight at Pakbeng, Laos. Of course no reservations. Just find a hotel you like. I chose one overlooking the river. I am sure there were cheaper but at $55 it beat motel 6!
I was in the middle of taking this time-lapse when across the river from my hotel I noticed these large grey things that were moving. So I stopped this sooner than I had planned. Please see the grey things below.
Grey things
The second day of the trip was supposed to start at 9am. I arrived an hour early. And all of the window seats had been taken. And we had switched boats to one that had even more seats on it. After all of us being counted at least 10 times by 3 different people, we finally left at 9:45. And the boat was packed full. There is always more room, so we stopped at least 6 more times to pick up more people. I would have taken the other boat trip if I only knew.
At one of the stops children came down to the boat to sell items that they had made.
I didn’t take very many photos on the second leg of this trip. This part lasted 8 hours. And was not very enjoyable.
Peru - The Amazon 