A floating market on the Mekong Delta. Photo / Getty Images
A floating market on the Mekong Delta. Photo / Getty Images
A Mekong Sun jaunt is as much an educational cruise as one of relaxation, writes Patrick Horton.
The last eastern vestiges of the Himalaya endow northern Laos with a rugged hilly landscape. Coursing through it in a wide, forested valley is the wild Mekong River.
Different craft ply these waters from long thin passenger craft to ferry boats connecting local villages. The largest is the Mekong Sun, a luxurious river cruise boat.
I'm a guest on this boat along with 15 other passengers and being looked after by an equal number of staff. My cabin, with en suite, glows warmly in polished rosewood and teak as is the ship which is why we shuffle around in slippers or bare feet. Above, a large sundeck is equipped with sun loungers and inside our dining tables and the bar.
For our first night we're moored on the Thai side of the Mekong but sail across next day to the Laos town of Hua Xai to complete immigration requirements.
Using an ATM makes me an instant millionaire (you get about 5730 Laotian Kip for $1). This town seems little different to the Thai town we've left but there's a slackening of pace. Our guide quips that the initials "PDR" preceding "Laos" mean "Please Don't Rush" rather than the "People's Democratic Republic".
This is as much an educational cruise as one of cosseted relaxation. Over the next four days and nights we learn much about a country that's new to us. Onboard talks augment daily excursions into the villages alongside the river.
On our first day we transfer to long boats that speed us up a side river to a village of the Khamu people where we donate supplies to the school. Children, pigs, hens, dogs and ducks roam the village along with us and our local guide, while mothers and older sisters observe from doorways or windows.
Laos is famous for elephants. Arriving well laden with bananas at an elephant camp is an opportunity to get up close, and for those that don't mind some splashing, an opportunity to scrub them down at their bath. That night we enjoy a fireside barbecue on a handy sandbank serenaded with Laotian songs by the crew.
The village of the Hmong people is on the next day's itinerary. Being their New Year festival many of the young women are arrayed in gorgeous traditional costume.
Downstream sheer-sided limestone cliffs loom up. Scoured into one are the Pak Ou caves filled with 6000 Buddha images. Our visit is completed with a jungle walk; our guide explaining the local system of agriculture and the use of various plants, one giving a red dye, another providing shampoo. We amble into the village of Ban Xang Hai where we refresh ourselves with rice whisky and buy brightly coloured weaving at ridiculously cheap prices.
Next morning we moor alongside the Unesco-listed Old Quarter of Luang Prabang, our destination. With our guide we explore the small streets built with a blend of Asian and French architecture. Outstanding is the 16th-century Wat Xieng Thong temple capped with waves of roofs and door sculptures embossed with gold leaf.
Lethargy induced by a lengthy lunch is forced from us by clambering 355 steps up Mt Phousi. Viewing the Buddhist statues on the way up provides enough breathing space to manage the 165m climb to a crowning stupa at the top.
From here the Mekong sparkles under the late afternoon sun. Below the night market is being set up and we wander back to the boat among colourful displays of Laotian arts and crafts. Our farewell dinner on deck is enlivened by a Laotian dance troupe.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Thai Airways fly from Auckland to Bangkok and Bangkok to Chiang Rai. Mekong Cruises transfer guests from there to the Mekong Sun.
