Boat Trip

10/1/2006

Today was the first of 3 days traveling by boat from Luang Nam Tha to Luang Prabang. Our big group split up into 3 boats. My group included Scott, Lindy, Carolyn, Emma, and me. The boat (see left) was pretty small and had 2 people driving it. Our huge backpacks were covered by a wood attachment, but our daypacks and bodies were open to the water and to the sun. The plan was to go down the river today and tomorrow in these boats and then to switch to a larger boat once we got to the Mekong River around noon tomorrow.

While the ride was very scenic, I found it to be a bit boring. It was peaceful, however, and I got to do a lot of Sudoku and began reading a book about Laos called Another Quiet American. The boat ride was calm, but we did get a little wet due to the occasional set of rapids. While several of the members got pretty bad sunburns, I was almost completely covered wearing pants, long sleeve button down shirt, sunglasses, and a floppy sunhat. It wasn't very fashionable, but it kept the sun away. At about 4 pm we arrived in the village where our boat drivers lived and where we would stay the night.