July 20th through 22nd: The end of Laos, and back to Thailand

July 20th: My last day in Luang Prabang

Almost every morning while in Luang Prabang I would bicycle over to Sheila's resort around 10am, when Sheila was finishing breakfast. The resort workers, Thip and Wath, would always offer me coffee. Sheila "adopted" these two - they are now part of her international family. When she found out that Wath does not have a fan in his rental house, Sheila bought him a fan. Thip has been having stomach/health issues, so Sheila bought her vitamins, and has ordered better vitamins from the States, which I will ship to Thip when I return. Sheila creates family wherever she goes. So on our last night in Luang Prabang, we took Thip, her "darling" Ngoi, Wath, and Pit, another worker at Sheila's resort, out to dinner. 

Ngoi and Thip at the buffet barbecue dinner

Sheila feeding Wath  (Wath calls Sheila "mom")

I kept putting shrimp and squid on the barbecue

all of us: Thip, Ngoi, me, Pit, Sheila and Wath (in Sheila's glasses)

 July 21st: Day one of our two day cruise on the Mekong River to Thailand
Considering that we were going to spend the next two days (10-11 hours a day) on a boat, we decided to book a little more expensive boat, which offered a bit more comfort.

our boat - Shompoo Line: $110 for the two days. There are couches in the front for 4 people, and 8 tables in the middle of the boat (four people at each). They told us this boat has a capacity of 40 people. We had only 11 on our boat.

Sheila relaxing on the couches in front of the boat

our route: day one from Luang Prabang to Pakbeng, day two to Houey Xay

the scenery was spectacular

 Two days on the Mekong - there is something that touches my core - archetypal for the post-Vietnam War generation. But even more then that - on the river, surrounded by jungle, primitive huts - it is back to our roots. It is a slow journey, as it should be.

We stopped at Ou Cave on the way. This cave was used as both a Buddhist retreat and a refuge during the Vietnam War. 

There is an article in the Huffington Post by Congressional Representative Michael Honda, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. He writes that the US conducted a 9 year bombing campaign on Laos from 1964 to 1973. In that time the US dropped 260 million cluster bombs, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in history. More than 2.5 million tons of munitions were dropped, which is more than the US dropped on Japan and Germany combined during WWII. Of the 75 million bombs that failed to detonate, less than 1% have been cleared. 25,000 people have been killed or injured in the 35 years following the end of the bombing campaign. 300 people are injured or killed every year. So far the US has spent about $3 million a year removing these bombs (compared to $2 million a day dropping them, which is $17 million in today's dollars).

boat laundry at Pakbeng, where we stopped for the night

 July 22nd: Day two on the Mekong

Hmong kids great our boat as we stopped at their village

Hmong village: really poor, though still - a satellite dish

Hmong village

Sheila being overwhelmed by Hmong children trying to sell her their little woven bracelets

Hmong laundry

my "girls" who I bought bracelets from

 Our guide, Sai, started talking to the Hmong people. "Are you speaking Lao or Hmong?" I asked. It turns out the Sai is Hmong. He grew up in a village just north of Luang Prabang. He speaks Lao, Hmong, English and Kamu. He recently married a Hmong woman. I asked if it was a problem to marry a Lao woman. "No. Not anymore. Not since 1975. Though a Lao girl is more expensive." He went on to explain that when Lao people get married, the groom's family has to pay for the wedding and a dowry to the bride's family. A Lao wedding will cost about $3000, and the dowry is about $1000. A Hmong wedding will only cost $2000, and the dowry is still $1000. "How can your family afford that?" I asked. He explained that they cannot raise that kind of money, but they can raise cows, which are worth about $1000 each.

Times were not always so good for the Hmong people. The US recruited the Hmong to fight against the communist Pathet Lao, known as the secret war, during the Laotian civil war. When the communists won, thousands of Hmong had to flee from Laos.

boat laundry at Houey Xay, the end of our two day trip.

 We arrived in Houey Xay around 4:30 in the afternoon. We went straight from the boat to the tuk tuk, which dropped us off at passport control. Then we took a boat across the Mekong to the passport control "kiosk" in Thailand. It all took about 30 minutes. By 5:05 pm we were on a mini-van to Chiang Rai, and two hours later we we in Chiang Rai. In this time of crazy security, this was amazing!