We loaded the vehicle with our luggage and handed it off to the local driver. We took a shoulder bag for an overnight stay and the two-day ferry ride. If the driver ran away, we would literally be stranded in the true sense of the word. Although we were in a foreign land, with no paid agents at our disposal, the comfort and trust factors were still high for reasons I am unable to easily pin point.
Laos is a land locked country with the great Maekong river cutting through the country. The water originates from China before dumping into Vietnam for an eventual destiny at North China Sea. There are a number of settlements by Maekong river, and ferries are a common means of transportation for villagers. We hopped on to one of those utility ferries, very minimal in convenience. We bought some provision for the ride and hopped on to the boat.
It was unsettling at first not to know how the process works and whether we can move around. Perhaps, the unease was exacerbated by a Lao ‘gentleman’ sitting on the back seat choosing to lean over and speak loudly over his phone (and into my ears)! The accompanying local travelers changed as they hopped on and off of the stops. So the gentleman didn’t become a sustained issue.
We eased into the rhythm of the boat motor humming along in a slow pace along the water flow, often changing directions away from the water flow to avoid protruding rocks. Left with no choice but to witness the activities along the shorelines draws one into the Lao laidback lifestyle. In hindsight, the boat ride epitomizes Laos in many ways.
To avoid night time ride, the boat docked at a town called ‘Pakbeng’, a touristy town catering to non-locals stopping by for the night. We were approached like a swarm of bees by local hotel reps with offers for an overnight stay. Since, we didn’t have any advance booking, we probably succumbed to the aggressive of the lot. The highlight of the Pakbeng town is a small stretch of road, perhaps less than 100 meters with restaurants on both sides with very minimal activities. Locals typically gather around a table with food and beer. The restaurants were hardly graced by patrons, may be attributable to low season. Overall, the pervasive stillness in the air slows one down by a few notches.
We hopped on for our 2nd day boat ride at 9 AM the next day. Knowing how the process works after the previous day travel, we seemed to relax a bit more and better observe and absorb the surroundings – Locals carrying on about their livelihood, a number of big sacks made out plastic materials were moved between villages, a number of mounted fishing rods by the shore lines, kids and buffaloes running around, lovers perched on a rock, a Buddhist monk boy fiddling in his phone…
We befriended an interesting Italian couple (high school sweet hearts) who have been traveling for past several months around the world – Luca and Valentina late in their 20s. Valentina with a wide and warm smile, in perfect synch with her smiling eyes; Lanky Luca with a pensive and direct responses, laced with utter respect. They seemed to be on a soul searching travel to shape their next phase of their lives. The maturity and their outlook on life at this young age was admirable. – vegetarians not wanting to add pollution, carrying a Lifestraw bottle to avoid plastic bottles, calm and composed demeanor, not caught up with the pressures of rat race, conservative and responsible in spending habits, topped off with sincerity and humility which seem to be a rarer phenomenon among youngsters!
We reached the final destination at 5 PM and were duly greeted by the driver. We took custody of the vehicle and dropped Luca and Valentina at the city center to let them find their bargain while we proceeded to our pre-arranged hotel
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