Mekong, ting tong! (that means "crazy")

After a wild three day journey we arrived in beautiful Luang Prabang, Laos! Our journey began from Chiang Mai in a mini bus with nine other people from differing countries. On the road we were lucky enough to stop at the White Temple in Chiang Rai, the most gorgeous I have seen to date. An artist/architect has been working on this self funded project for over 20 years and it's breathtaking- completely white, covered in mirrors, and ornate. It's a commentary on society as well- out front there are hands raising up from the depths and twisted demon faces. Inside, a mural of a demon filled with pop culture icons faces the Buddha and nirvana. Google this place- I was astounded. We continued on another few hours to stop at our first guest house, which was my own personal depth of hell. The room was filled with spider webs and it appeared it hadn't been cleaned since the late nineties. The floor was gross, the bathroom nasty, and the pillows had black mold. I cursed my choice to book this journey that had booked this guesthouse for us. I thank my uncle Ted and Wendy for the mosquito net- its little mesh barrier saved me that night. I am not sure if my nightmares that evening were any worse than the reality of that hellpit.

We woke up early the next day and after going through Thai immigration we hopped a little boat and arrived in Laos. Everyone was wandering around, barely anyone there spoke English (other than the other tourists) and an hour later we had our visas and were on our way! Once we arrived at the next tour agency they took our passports, assured us they would be back in ten minutes, and drove off to buy slow boat tickets. Forty minutes later and sans passport I'm starting to lose my shit, yet most of the other people were just drinking Lao beer (it's 10:30 am) and hanging out. No one drank the snakes blood they also had for sale. So I keep it together and wait it out, not having a clue where i even am. Another 20 minutes later we finally get our passports back and tickets. We arrive at the slow boat and are seated at the back. Great! Right by the engine, which is far louder than any concert or compostable sunchips bag.

The boat seats about 80 people and their bags. It is also the home of the Laos people who run it, with a tiny makeshift bedroom in the back. It's open, with wooden sides, it's long, and doesn't look very reliable. The seats look like they were taken from an old bus and the engine is uncovered in the back- right next to the one bathroom. Once everyone is seated on the boat it almost looks like we are level with the water, which was a wild sensation. Embrace the adventure and we're off! The scenery of Laos from the Mekong is beyond incredible- craggy rocks jut out splicing through the waters of the River alongside sandy banks. Foothills and mountains taper off in layers, dominating on either side of the river. The land is misty and dense with untamed jungle and unruly plant life in every shade of green. Vines trickle down from giant trees, fighting for sunlight amongst the forest top. Long since abandoned fishing poles and bamboo huts dot the landscape, as villages are seen from time to time. Children from local villages splash in the playground of their Mekong as women bend to clean their woks and pans. I truly felt a sense of exploration and complete tranquility. Then, all of the sudden, there is a bunch of screaming in Lao, the boat drifts right next to those jagged rocks, and we crash right into them along the left side of the boat. The whole boat goes silent, until one girl yells out "is this like titanic 2?!"

After it is determined there is no serious damage we continued onward, the mood dampened just slightly. Everyone is relieved when pull up to our second stop. A Lao man jumps on the boat and immediately begins offering various drugs. Thanks, but no thanks. Our second guest house is quite better than the first and thanks to Lisa Garbin I knew not to order the "happy shake" at dinner that night. Happy shakes, happy pancakes, and all other foods starting with the word happy are to be avoided- I was just happy to be ashore.

The next day we hopped back on the boat for another eight hour journey. We had better seats, good snacks, and no accidents with the rocks! The scenery continued to humble me and Brad was the best company I could have asked for. The boat was filled with a funny combination of people and we met a few new friends along the way. We arrived in Luang Prabang just in time for sunset, and our Mekong river adventure had come to a close.

We ate a wonderful street food buffet dinner costing each of us $1.50 and called it a night. I did notice however that I was incredibly land sick and could not stop feeling like I was rocking once I got off that boat. You win some, you lose some. Luang Prabang, we are so glad to be here.