Riverboat to Luang Prabang, Laos

From Chiang Mai, we took a 7 hour bus ride east to the border town of Chaing Khong, Thailand.  The next morning, we crossed the Mekong river into Laos and boarded the ‘slow boat’ for our two day trip south to Luang Prabang, Laos.  (We would spend about 7 hours the first day on the boat, let out in Pak Beng, Laos to spend the evening, and then board again for about another 9 hours before reaching our destination.)  We had heard some bad stories about conditions on the boat, but after travelling in India and Nepal, we thought it was relatively comfortable.  :)

We spent the time reading, playing cards, listening to music (yes, we did bring an iPod… and we’re glad we did!), and taking pictures of life along the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boat made several stops to pick up/ drop off people… often greeted by their friends and family

 

 

 

 

Fishing along the river

 

 

 

 

This seat would be it for a good part of the day.  You were able to get up and stretch, but much like an airplane, there was really nowhere to go but the small aisle. 

About 3/4 of the way through the 2nd day, we ran head on into a big storm.  The driver of the boat though took very swift precautions and docked immediately.  Unfortunately, due to the high winds, we ran right into someone else’s canoe along the shore and slightly damaged it. 

Below is a picture inside the boat after they let the tarps down over the windows…we would spend only about 15-20 minutes this way before heading out again on the river.

Pai, Thailand

After all the “hustle and bustle” in Chiang Mai, the sleepy town of Pai was much needed!  There is little in the way of tourist attractions in the town of Pai, it is more of a place to relax in.  Renting/owning a scooter is by far the most convenient way to get around town and beyond, but even still the traffic in the streets was much lighter than in our previous stops.  In fact, it was almost if all the streets in the main part of town were more or less walking streets, where the pedestrians always had the right of way, and the scooters (and rare car) had to be mindful of us!  With cafes, bakeries, restaurants, and shops lining the streets, we had plenty to keep us busy while we were relaxingl!  In a short time, we will be spending 2 full days on the Mekong River in order to get to Laos, so we are taking these lazy days as they come!    :-)

 

Our bungalow

 

Scott and his motorcycle scooter

 

A great meal (of minced pork and sticky rice) at a tiny place outside town…

 

 

With no recognizable name, it was nice to be the only tourists in the place.

 

 

Apparently, this coffee shop was in a Thai movie called ‘Pai in Love’… we saw some Thai people posing next to this mailbox.  (Now we’ll have to watch the movie!)  It was a perfect place to stop off and have a pastry and coffee, with views of Pai valley.

 

 

We took the scooter to some hot springs outside of town… we got there early to avoid the heat and were the only people there. 

 

 

The hot spring flowed into a river which had several smaller pools… the higher the pool, the hotter the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The quaint town of Pai

 

Some videos of the countryside on our little bike tour… it was more than a bit unsettling to drive on the LEFT-hand side of the road!

 

Chiang Mai, Thaialnd – part 4 – Muay Thai boxing

Boxing is quite a national passion in Thailand… a specific style called Muay Thai which resembles kick boxing.  The timing worked out for us to catch a match at one of the boxing stadiums in Chiang Mai.

The area surrounding the stadium was pretty interesting to say the least.  Picture the stereotypical, seedy Thailand you see in movies; dimly lit bars with colorful lanterns hanging from awnings blasting music… crowds and all kinds of characters bustling about… boxing enthusiasts, Thai families, dread-locked tourists, camera-toting tourists (like us) and vendors of (eh hem) all varieties.

There were 8 matches all together.  It started out with junior league, kids about 11 years old with padded boxing gloves, and moved on to other “main” events like bare-knuckled boxing (hands are wrapped in tape only).  There was even an event where 3 guys were placed in the ring blindfolded, talking wild swings at each other… a real crowd pleaser.  :) 

Lots of video from the matches… only posting a few for now…

 

 

 

v1

v3

 

v2

 

 

 

 

Jen posing with some of the junior boxers

Chiang Mai, Thailand – part 3 – Songkran Festival

 

Our overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

 

 

 

The seats converted to bunks at night

 

Songkram Festival

The Thais celebrate their new year with 5 straight days of festivities in mid April, called Songkram.  With the Red Shirt protests still going on in Bangkok, we didn’t get to see any of the festivities, but were lucky enough to catch the tail end of it once arriving in Chiang Mai.

Songkram is celebrated by throwing water on everyone you see…   lots and lots of water!!  When we hit the streets of Chiang Mai, we hired a tuk tuk outfitted with a big garbage can filled with water and a couple of  buckets.  The driver drove us around town, here we exchanged bucket after bucket of water with the locals.  For 50 baht we bought a huge block of ice to put in our garbage can of water which elicited a lot more screams than the normal river-temperature water.  It was a blast… but eventually, we would retreat to the curbs where it was a little less “in your face” water throwing.

(**lots of great video from this day but will have to wait for better internet to post**)

 

 

People lined up along the river (which winds through town) to dunk buckets and fill up squirt guns

 

 

Scott in the background about to throw a bucket of water

 

Retreating…

Jen helping a local girl get into the action

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jen getting to know some of the “lady boys” of Thailand