crazy speedboat to luang pruobang

all smiles so far

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the slow boat took 2 days stopping at pak beng which was supposed to be pretty awful. the more expensive speedboat took only 6 hours to the old laos capital of luang prabang, so without seeing the vessel we got o the peir, paid, and then made our way to the water.

the boat was about 15 foot long and 3 foot wide. it was flat bottomed and could have only been about 1 foot deep. the sleek lines of the boat made it look like it could shift, and this was re-enforced by the dirty great car engine strapped to the back. it was a typical thai long tail design, no rudder, but a big pivot underneath the whole engine.

the water was turbulent, and as the mighty meong squeezed its way through the rocks huge whirlpools, eddies and waves were produced. however, WE WERE SHIFTING and the little boat was skittered masterfully over all of the obsticles. the boat was tiny, given the frame and size of most 8 laos people could fit into the boat comfortably, despite the size of us fat westerners we were still expected to sqeeze in with a sqautting style.the feeling in my legs was gone after the first 15 mins. at first it didn't matter because the pure terror of watching the rocks fly past the boat was enough to take tour mind off it. although all our baggage was also piled on the bow the boat went like a bxstxrd!

the very small boats

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there aren't many other words to describethe 7 hour trip. crazy, is probably the best. it was exilerating, scary and dangerous. i'm very pleased we did it because its somthing which will stay with us for the rest of our lives. it also revealed the sheer beauty and scale of laos. that section of the mekong valley is made up from endless emerrald montains, really steep and really remote.

i'd recommend anyone to give it a try, but doing it again would tka e some serious thought!