One of the locals pushing our boat out
Ali is eating her tuna baguette and the Lao boy in front of us is feasting on a handful of sticky rice and scraps of meat. Today is the last day of our 2-day boat trip from the Thai border to Luang Prabang in Laos. Like yesterday, we have been traveling along the majestic Mekong river for most of the day. The scenery hasn't changed much but I'm still not bored of it yet. At both sides of the wide muddy Mekong there are small mountains coated in lush green palms and trees. Misty clouds roll in between the peaks which is a constant reminder of how high we are. Occasionally we stop by a riverside village to pick up or drop-off a passenger which offers a glimpse of local life. Young dark skinned girls carry babies and hurry down the muddy banks with all the other kids in the village to watch our boat pull in. Our boat is extremely long, narrow with squared off ends and has a roof which provides us with protection against the rain (of which there is a lot of). Parts of the mountains look like they have been shaved by clippers where there is only grass instead of dense jungle. The trees hang over the water with twining vines draped over them. Our seats are wooden planks. And they hurt. The murky brown water sporadically swirls and seems to be flowing in all directions as waves collide. One moment the surface is rippled then the next it's smooth and mirror-like. My bum is seriously numb.
One of the villages we stopped off at
The view just before we reached Luang Prabang
