Travelling is definitely an inspiring experience, Just when you think life is shit and you may as well just go and buy your ticket home something happens to lift you from the depths to the hieghts of enthusiasm. The funny thing is that the catalyst is usually something very stressful, difficult or down right painful. In this case it was a touch of it all.
I fronted up at 5:30am for the bus from DBP to Muang Khua, the start of the trek to Luang Prabang. Into the heart of darkness as it were. To say the Bus was packed would be to lie flat out. It was more than packed it was ridiculous. There were about 30,000 locals and 10 westerners squeezed like sardines into the back shelf of a very tight bus. We travelled like siamese sardine fish for 8 hours to Muang Khua. We had a respite at the border where the Laotian Border people fleeced us of whatever US dollars we had and another respite for lunch in a very small and strangely picturesque village somewhere in the depths of Northern Laos.
Muang Khua was small and border like. The Bus left us stiff and sore on the other side of the river to the town and we had to negotiate a crossing with the ferryman who had a very long and thin boat for the purpose. The 10 of us then distributed ourselves around town in various guesthouses. Several of the female persuation were able to share to reduce costs. I of course avoided any suggestions of sharing with my fellow travellers being painfully aware of my capacity to shake the walls with my snoring. We all agreed to meet up at the town crossroads and share a meal at 6pm. A wonderful night of tales and stories followed with us sharing life experiences and whatnot.
It is amazing how these shared experiences creates the strongest bonds of friendship in such a short time. I am constantly amazed by this and of course a little inspired. All the people I had met were young enough to be my children! The eldest I think is in their thirties. They were great. They lifted me up and put me firmly on my feet. I felt once again that I knew exactly what I was doing and why. I had focus and direction again and I was back in the world!
The next day we shared a boat down the river to Nong Khiaw. Some got off at a place called Muang Ngoi Neua. It was so sad to see them standing on the river bank as we moved back into the current waving wistfully with sad smiles and wondering of will we see them again. It was like loosing a family member. Taking a step back, the river trip was fantasic, the views of the bank ever changing in aspect and detail. Tiny villages, clusters of very small bamboo huts would peer shyly from river hieghts surrounded by bamboo groves and flanked by patches of vegetables. Every once in a while the excitement lifted as we thrust into a rapid. The boat would lurch around and water would splash everywhere. Very exciting and very safe. Good fun. What interested me was that the front of the boat would wiggle about in an independent way from the rear. I decided that this was what was meant to happen so I relaxed and enjoyed the time.
Follow will be a description of our time in Nong Khiaw.
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