Mariela and I spent 16 hours over two days traveling up the Mekong River by slow boat to get back to Thailand from Laos. The first day, we had the "luxury boat," which earned its title because of the padded car seats nailed to 2x4s that made up the passenger rows.
It was fine for eight hours. The breeze came in off the water and we were comfortable enough to read and journal and even nap. We spent the night at a super-dodgy guesthouse in Pak Beng. At no other point on this trip was I afraid to fall asleep at night, but we did, in fact, live to see another day.
The next morning we had a scrumptious breakfast -- an egg, ham, and cheese bagel and muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit -- before heading down to meet the boat.
It was exactly the same as yesterday's vessel except for one unfortunate detail. We were on the edge of our seats, literally, because the wide, comfy car chairs had been replaced by rickety, narrow, wooden benches with loose floral cushions so flat there might as well have been no cushion at all. Observe our chagrin.
It was a long eight hours. We spent that night at a non-sketchy guesthouse in Houay Xai. This one was on a three-tiered pricing system. See the photo for details. We must have chosen "cheaper price," because ours didn't come with toilet paper. It was OK, though. We nicked some from the room across the hall.
The next day, we crossed the river into Thailand and spent the day riding various buses on our way to Chiang Mai.
We stopped in Chiang Rai to see the White Temple, or Wat Rong Khun.
We also perused a small gallery of the artist's other work. Most of it was very Buddhist, but there were a few unique paintings that caught our eye. One pictured George Bush clinging to a rocket blasting into space and waving. Odd. Another interesting piece had a title that was something like, "The Dominance of the Male Organ Over the World." I almost bought a postcard of that painting, but I couldn't decide who I'd mail it to. You don't want to send the wrong message...
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