Day 228 - Monks and the Mekong

We woke up early this morning to join our neighbor lady in giving alms to the monks. I know they are supposed to give up worldly desires, but surely they must get bored with oranges and sticky rice. In fact, this morning, one novice did close the lid of his begging bowl to prevent the orange from going in. I think I should have bought those strawberry lollies I saw at one of the convenience stores!

After the last of the monks passed by, we collected our bags, and set off for the ferry dock to begin day one of our 2-day foray up the Mekong to the Thai border. The weather was absolutly wretched - grey and rainy and cold. We were very happy to not only be bundled up in our fleeces, but also to burrow under our sleeping bag for most of the journey.

The rain did have the bonus of cloaking the surounding mountains with misty clouds, giving them a bit of atmospheric drama which they had been lacking. As stated before, after the Himalayas, mountains really have to work hard to impress us.

Even the few days of rain upriver, and now on-river caused the river to surge along in a chocolate-coloured sheet. Every now and then a whirlpool or eddy would catch the boat and give it a litttle shake, just to remind us that this is the Mighty Mekong, not some little backwater tributary.

We arrived in Pak Beng, about halfway between Luang Prabang and the Thai Border at dusk. The way up from the ferry dock involved scrambling up a steep rocky-muddy slope in the half dark. Cz was not pleased. We arrived at our guesthouse which had mercifully hot showers and clean bathrooms. After taking advantage of the oh-so-civilised facilties, we wadered back into town (which seemed a much shorter walk going downhill and pack-free) for some well-deserved curry and rice.

Tomorrow we look forward to more of the same. The rain was pretty, but I hope for, if not sun, at least warm.