Lazy in Laos (Week 7)

Sabadee from Laos! We have a new favorite way to travel... via slow boat. Our first two days in Laos were spent floating down the mighty Mekong river. We had learned about this ‘water taxi’ prior to leaving home and decided it sounded fun even though we were unsure if it would even have a bathroom on board. Our expectations were surpassed and for two days we had an absolute blast... we were even spoiled with a bathroom. 

We sipped on beers while watching the Lao mountains roll by and became friends with many other backpackers. Tatum was nicknamed ‘Montana’ and the name stuck for weeks as we would bump into friends through the rest of Laos. We bestowed our Montana/Wyoming wisdom on our new European friends by informing them that NO... bear spray should NOT be applied like bug spray. 

After two scenic days on the river (and bargaining a nights stay at a guesthouse for $5.40) we arrived in the city of Luang Prabang. We had learned that Laos was a mellow, slow-moving country, so we slowed down as well. The first few days were spent wondering the narrow alleyways, admiring temples, and enjoying some French influence... the bread! In need of a night out, we met up with some of our slow boat friends and went bowling... Laotian style. The bowling alleys were slanted, had boards sticking up into the air, and there were no apparent rules. We are learning that anything goes here in Laos...

After taking a couple days to recoup we headed out to explore the surrounding areas. Corbin had been talking about fishing for the past few weeks so we decided to book a fishing/floating tour. We spent the morning on a bamboo raft passing by beautiful scenery and the afternoon fishing on the riverbank. Fishing was indeed Laotian style, one of the poles was broken and we were using deep sea fishing weights... we didn’t stand a chance.

To round out our time in Luang Prabang, we decided to witness some of the local culture. We woke up at the ass crack of dawn, 4:30am, and went to watch the giving of the alms. The giving of the alms is when the monks wake up at sunrise and walk the streets while accepting sticky rice and other offerings from local people. We enjoyed sipping on much needed coffees and watched as roughly 150 monks walked through the city streets. 

We really enjoyed our week in Luang Prabang. One event in particular is more memorable than the rest and we have decided to write about it in the next post. Stay tuned...

With Love,

   Boots Abroad

Corbin’s

   Highs: Slow boat partying, see next post... 

   Lows: Not catching fish, hanging out with Tatum at 430 in the morning... 

Tatum’s

   Highs: See next post... 

   Lows: Waking up at 430 (not a huge morning person)