Life on the Mekong River, one of the
major waterways in southeast Asia, goes on as slow and
as unspoiled as ever.
| Ever since I was a
kid studying geography in high school - before they made that
subject a minor part of "social studies" - I have been
fascinated by the Mekong River.
It's the
world's 10th largest and the 12th longest - starting in the
Tibetan highlands of China and ending in the South China Sea
just south of Saigon, in Vietnam.
Along
its 4,350-km length, it flows through six countries and also
serves as a border between Laos and Burma (Myanmar) and
between Laos and Thailand.
Its placidly
flowing, mud-brown water also serves as a road and as a
lifeline in an undeveloped, untamed part of the world. Yet
moving from my schoolboy travel dream to an actual visit -
although it took a few years - was easy.
I
flew to Bangkok, Thailand, and hopped off to bordering Laos,
where two cities, Vientiane and Luang Prabang, are on the
Mekong River's banks.
Of the two, I
preferred the smaller Luang Prabang, the former capital, in
the Laotian interior, to the current capital, Vientiane -
which faces Thailand across the river.
For
maximum exposure to river life, you can sail the Mekong
between those two cities, which are 430 km apart.
There are flights, taking just 45 minutes.
And there is bus service - but it's a rough ride on rough
roads through the mountains, and a long one - 10 to 16 hours
at least!
The river is the true highway in
Laos, and the best way to admire this unspoiled gem.
You can choose between a slow ferry and a
six-hour ride on a speedboat - if you can stand the infernal
noise these small boats make, using what looks like aircraft
engines.
The much quieter, much bigger
ferries make for a fabulous two- or three-day trip. You can
sleep on deck, or sometimes in small guesthouses along the way
if you want to break the trip. All the boats make several
stops, but few stop overnight.
Regardless
of how you go, fares, in this low-cost country, won't be a
problem.
Speedboats cost twice as much as
the ferries, and you need not take food along on them. But on
a ferry you might get change from a $20 bill. One-way flights
cost about $75, so you can use one means of transport one way
and return on another.
If you dislike long river trips, you can take short
waterborne excursions from any Laotian town on the Mekong,
such as Luang Prabang. Read my column for an example.
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