Day 2 on the River

10/2/2006

We woke up early and continued on our trip down the river toward the Mekong. In the early afternoon we reached the Mekong and switched to a larger boat (see right) that had a large covered area and plenty of seats. Scott chartered the entire boat for our group, so there was plenty of space. The Mekong had pretty much the same scenery as the other river. For the night we stayed in the town Pakbeng, which is a small town that essentially serves to accommodate tourists as they stay one night while traveling down the river.

One thing that I've thought about for a few days is how fortunate I am to live in the US compared to in the Thai or Lao villages. The villagers spend their entire day working to prepare their own food. They are subsistence farmers. Because all aspects of their life revolve around farming and preparing their own food, they do not have time to advance as a society because they do not have time to pursue higher education. While some people may criticize Americans for not eating the freshest or healthiest foods all the time, doing so saves us time so that we can focus on other things like getting a better education, which allows us to pursue any type of career that we wish. However, I don't feel that having such opportunities in America cause us to attain more happiness than the villagers. The level of happiness between Americans and the villagers seems comparable. Thus, having more technology and better education does not necessarily lead to increased happiness.