Friday, November 18, 2011

MIDDLE MEKONG, LAOS

We left Luang Prabang early in the morning and it was actually quite cold. We bundled up and headed up river for two full days of river travel to cross into northern Thailand.



Things started out misty and grey, and we stopped at the Pak Ou caves, which are filled with Buddha images in an overhang overlooking the river.





Just lush jungle and tiny villages along the banks as we made our way up slowly. By 11am the sun had come out and it started getting warm. I just read and watched the forrest go by. We stopped at a few small villages know for making Lao-lao, or rice whiskey. These were by far the most poverty stricken villages we saw.




We stopped for one night at the Luang Say Lodge, where there was nothing around but stars and the river and our open air cottage. It may have been the most isolated we had been the entire trip. The next day was another full day of travel to Huay Xai, where we would cross the river into Thailand and say goodbye to the sleepy isolation, mellow pace, and rural charm, but also the deep poverty, of Laos.


1 comment:

  1. What type of camera did you used to take these beautiful shots?

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