It was early morning when we left the village of Huay Xai in Northern Laos for the Mekong River, planning to get to Luang Prabang the same day. The 150 km journey along the river by speedboat would take half a day, breaks included. Contrary to the advice given by our Lonely Planet guidebook we had decided to take a speedboat, because our hostess at Chiang Mai had recommended this alternative. Traveling on a big, slow river boat would have taken two days and required an overnight stay at the village of Pak Peng.
There were a lot of people at the pier when we arrived and the small speedboats set out one by one as soon as they were full. We were among the last to board and when stepping on the boat we saw right away that we had made the wrong choice. There was no turning back however; the low, narrow boat was packed full of people and off we went.
The boat flew on the surface of the water at high speed, at times reaching 80 km/h, and we sat on the hard benches with our chins on our knees, space for each passenger being about 40 x 50 cm. After only half an hour's travel our muscles were cramped and we felt miserable. We watched the passing scenery with our earplugs on, because the noise from the motor was deafening. The Lao passengers also wore helmets and lifejackets provided by the boat driver.
When the river is low, as it was then, accidents happen when speedboats bump into sandbars or sunken logs. Those who have not survived have been mostly local people who cannot swim.
Water splashed on our clothes and soon we were soaked to the skin. The sun was shining and the air was warm but I felt cold. Andy had a pained expression on his face; there was definitely too little room for a big man, particularly for one with occasional but severe lower back problems. I got a cramp on my left leg, but there was nothing I could do about it.
We had been promised that there would be a break every sixty minutes or so and after what felt like an eternity, the boat stopped. We discovered that our feet had gone to sleep and Andy's right foot was totally numb for at least ten minutes.
Luckily there was an additional stop when the boat motor suddenly started to act up. After landing on a sandbank our driver began to repair it and we hoped that he would not get it fixed too soon.
Stepping onto the golden sand dune and warming our sore muscles, we enjoyed our freedom. But then we came to think that we were in the middle of nowhere, only forest on both sides of the river. If the driver were not able to repair the motor, when would there be other boats coming to our rescue? We had not brought any food with us. And how long would our drinking water last?
We then saw two hunters walking on a ridge with guns on their shoulders. One was also carrying what to us looked like a wild boar. He came to the shore with his dog, threw down the boar and, unconcerned about our presence took off his clothes and plunged into the water. The dog remained watching over the boar but could not resist the temptation, started to bite into it greedily. When the man got out of the water, he raised hell, and the dog moved aside with his tail between his legs, waiting for his master to calm down. Finally the hunter left with the boar, the dog walking close behind him.
Our trip continued. One more hour of speeding down the Mekong and we would reach the next stop, the village of Pak Peng. Our minds were made up; we would get off there and rest our limbs. When and how we would continue our journey would remain to be seen. A traveler’s tomorrow is always a new adventure!
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The rugged landscape is perfect for hair-raising outdoor pursuits. As Mark Turner of specialist outdoor sports website adrenalinePASS.com says, "We are especially looking forward to the white water rafting season on the River Tummel. This is undoubtedly the best
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Arusha National Park is only a few Kilometers from Arusha and is a small but beautiful park set in the shadow of Mount Meru. There is a string of lakes in this park and canoeing has recently been added to the tourist activities.
One lake known as ‘Small Momela’ successful launched the canoeing safari this year. This is a great way to see the park from a new perspective. It is good to get out of your vehicle and actually get some exercise and get ‘down and personal’ with the African Bush. This chance to view the animals in their
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The great state of Washington offers some of the best white-water rafting in the entire country. There are around 15 rivers in Washington state that are great for river rafting. Some of the most famous are the Klickitat, the Yakima, and the Skagit rivers. Each offers a unique Washington river rafting experience.
There are several river recreation outfitters in Washington that specialize in river rafting tours on a variety of Washington rivers. These tours can vary in length from one afternoon to several days. The outfitters usually arrange for accommodations on tours lasting multiple days. Each river recreation outfitter offers trips
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One of the ports visited on our recent Royal Caribbean cruise was Grand Cayman. This was an eagerly awaited port as I've been there before but wanted to take my girlfriend scuba diving there. We were worried that we might miss this port since the Caymans were hit pretty hard by the hurricanes and indeed, they had closed the islands off to tourist travel for part of the summer/fall.
Fortunately for us, Grand Cayman had reopened just
about two weeks prior to our cruise at the end of November.
Getting to Grand Cayman is by tender because it has a shallow
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