Laos - Land of the Mekong River

Laos is actually known as "The Land of a Million Elephants", but for me it's where I finally encountered the Mekong River. My Lonely Planet of Northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam encompasses the Mekong region, but I hadn't yet really seen the river that is the lifeblood of the region. 

I've never been very good at explaining my emotions (I can never find the right words - I need to work on my vocabulary), but this river amazes me! I've seen beautiful sunsets over the ocean in Thailand and stunning mountainous vistas in Vietnam, but looking at the flowing waters of the Mekong with wooden fishing boats and black jagged rocks jutting out in the current stops and quiets the world, just for a moment. I'm not sure exactly what it is about the river that gives me such a powerful feeling. But when I look at it I see a rich history of powerful civilizations now lost to history, colonization, war, but also the life it has given to this country. There are times you look at the river and feel transported back 100 years (if you can ignore the powerlines..hehe). Or, maybe I'm just feeling at peace after traveling through so many Buddhist countries!

I don't think my pictures will give it justice....there's something about Laos. 

Taking the "slow boat" - a two-day ride down the Mekong towards Luang Prabang

Mekong at dusk at the half way point - Pak Beng

The Mekong from the slow boat. The sky was amazing during our boat ride

With Cindy and I traveling together, we were obviously renting scooters (because we are real biker chicks!!). I lucked out this time with a pink bike AND pink helmet....biker babe alert! We had a great ride out to Kuang Si Waterfalls along a winding road though small villages surrounded by forest. Unlike Thailand and Vietnam, where the majority of land has been used for agriculture, Laos is still 70% natural forests (although thanks to big brother China, that is changing). We then drove to the other side of Luang Prabang to see the Pak Ou caves, famous for their many Buddha statues that have been brought there by worshipers for over 100 years. The views of the Mekong near the caves almost made me cry (obsessed with this river much...).

Road to Kuang Si

Cindy on the rope swing into the waterfalls. I was too chicken to try

Beautiful waterfalls

The Mekong at dusk

Taking the boat across the river to the cave

Buddha images in Pak Ou caves

Mekong river and the sunset - wish I could have better captured it

We decided to do a 2 day trek/kayak with an overnight stay in a Hill Tribe village. Like Thailand, many Laotians are from the mountainous areas and are minority people. We decided to trek to see the amazing Lao forests and to stay in one of these villages to learn about the people and their culture. It was a long, hot trekking day and at the end I was definitely out of gas. We stopped in three villages along the way; two Khmu and one Hmong village. Our guide, Vir (pronounced Year), is Hmong himself and in his kind, quiet way answered all of our queries and helped translate in both Hmong and Lao the questions to the villagers. In the third village, we were given lovely bamboo accommodations and supper by our host family. In the morning (I slept for about 10 hours!!), we set out to kayak down Nam Khan (not the Mekong...oh well) before being picked up and transferred back to Luang Prabang. It was great being on the water, but I could have used more shade...

The path out of our first (Khmu) village

Playful Khmu children

Views along the hike

Cindy hiking uphill

AMAZING countryside

I loved the mountains and the sky!

Downhill

Stunning!

Water Buffalo along the river - notice the pink ones. They are light colored and get sunburned.

Our last day in Luang Prabang, we spent relaxing (massage and body scrub for me!), eating a delicious dinner and having a great night out. It was a quick 6 days in Laos, but amazing! I'll be returning someday to soak up more of the beautiful Laos countryside!

Bamboo bridge across the Nam Khan

BBQ - Lao style

Hip Hop/Break dance show at Hive Bar. These boys were great! Then we met the owner, Troy from Winnipeg - then the real party started when the Beer Lao and Lao Lao (rice whisky) started flowing! You can always count on friendly, generous Canadians no matter where in the world you meet them!

The Nam Khan joins the Mekong river in Luang Prabang

Buildings in Luang Prabang