ຫ້ວຍຊາຍ - Houei Sai - Huay-Xai
One of the highlights of my trip is looming ahead of me, a cruise on the Mekong from Huay-Xai to Luang Prabang.
All this requires a bit of organization but the magic of the internet accompanies me in my efforts.
Obtain my visa to cross to Laos
Find transportation to the border
Find a hotel in the village where the cruise leaves, another halfway in Pak Beng and a last one in Luang Prabang
Choose the company and the type of cruise I want and give them all my information, including a photo of my passport
I could have hired a travel agent who would have done all that for me, but I like to organize myself. That way, the trip is perfectly adapted to what I want, down to the smallest details.
Of course, I sometimes make mistakes, like when I booked a hotel room, non-refundable for... three months later. I consider that it is the price of the experience and... it is not the end of the world. In addition, I am lucky to have a very understanding partner who helps "us" to get out of it when there is a problem. In fact, he never sees the problems, only the solutions.
I leave Chiang Mai in a small, ultra-ornate minibus, I feel like I am in a discotheque.

The driver is very experienced and after a 5-6 hour journey through the mountain curves or, the curvy mountains, I arrive at the border of Laos.

Leaving Thailand, crossing the Friendship Bridge, arriving in Laos where the process is a little more complex but finally, my visa is accepted

and my passeport is adorned with a new visa.

New journey to my Homestay where I settle in for the next two days. This interlude is not necessary but I like to take the time to understand a new country when I arrive there.
A new country, a new language, a new way of greeting
It gives me time to get some Kip, the Laotian currency, and to learn the magic word in every country I visit.
hello sabaydee
thanks kop jai
no problem sabai sabai.
The owner of my Homestay is young, beautiful, enthusiastic and very “helpful”. She answers all my questions, she has all the solutions.
She encourages me to take the scenic route to a rooftop bar/hostel called Over The Moon.
The place is peaceful and I admire the sun setting over Thailand, on the other side of the Mekong.
Travel broadens the mind
While admiring the sky, I chat with four young men who met here and who take the opportunity to exchange their backpacker tips while playing Monopoly.
They come from all over the world. An American, a South African, a Frenchman and a German.
Throughout my trip, I will meet these groups that form spontaneously. No language barrier, English being the lingua franca. They all have the desire for adventure, for discovery.

I take the opportunity to practice the language I am currently studying, german.
-Wie geht’s? How are you?
-Mir geht’s gut I am good
I love learning a new language and since I discovered the Duolingo app, learning is so much easier and more enjoyable. By adding Coffee Break, it’s even better.
Chatting with the two owners, I learn that there are… three of them.

A Dutch woman who lived in Vientiane (capital of Laos) for more than 15 years, an English woman and a Laotian woman… who happens to be the owner of my Homestay. Three women who were never meant to meet, three women who barely knew each other but who saw an opportunity and decided to dive into the adventure.
They are a role model for young Laotian women and men.
Fort Cornet
The next day, I visited a French fort, Fort Cornet. This one dates back to the beginning of the French occupation and yet... I felt like I was in a future that I knew well...
I take the opportunity to exchange a few pleasantries with a group of children to whom, of course, I offer small Canadian flag pins.

La, Sil, Pouha, Fa and Tut are delighted to pose.
After two days in Huay-Xai, I board the slow boat that will take me to Luang Prabang.
A slow boat is a very long and narrow boat that floats directly on the surface of the water because the Mekong is full of outcropping rocks. The driver sits at the front and the engine is at the back.
I am welcomed by Tune who will guide us and share, throughout the next two days, his knowledge of the Mekong and the Laotians. Obviously, we take off our shoes before entering the cabin.
Nâga Fireballs
Tune tells me that every year, or almost, the Mekong emits fireballs. In October, small luminous spheres rise from the surface of the waters in silence and climb towards the sky

credit: skeptoid.com
In Buddhist tradition, the Nâga is a creature from the underworld and the waters represented in the form of a large snake. It protects Buddha from rain and rising waters. As for the fireballs, they appear when Nâga rises from the bottom of the river and sends balls of light in homage to Buddha.
In fact, these lights are similar to will-o'-the-wisps but... nothing has been proven nor explain and I prefer the legend to an explanation from "experts" who, in fact, know nothing about it.
Transnistria
The trip to Luang Prabang lasts two days. Two days of sailing gently on the Mekong. Two days of watching time pass. This moment of calm gives us time to chat. So, I start the discussion with my table neighbour, Alexandra, a Greek who loves to travel and made her first trip to Kenya at the age of four.
She tells me about Transnistria, which she was lucky enough to visit during the maximum period allowed by the visa, which is... 12 hours.

Her impressions are vivid and she knows how to convey them with passion.
Transnistria is a state that declared itself independent "de facto" in 1992. In fact, it is part of Moldova, and the eastern border is Ukraine.
Most countries do not recognize this independence, but they do not care.
Its Prime Minister is close to Sheriff Holding, a company that owns almost all of Transnistria's businesses. This Holding pays only an excessively low rate of taxes and import duties and receives 30% of the state budget. Here is someone who has found a way to make money... a lot of money.
Lenin, Stalin, Catherine the Great of Russia and the acronym of the USSR are the headliners on the walls and sculptures. It is as if this region of Moldova had forgotten that there had been a coup d’état that had put an end to the USSR in 1991.
Alexandra is just as enthusiastic when she tells me about her visit to the canals of London or the studies on the American diet. I listen to her with interest.
There is so much to see, so much to learn… I will not have enough in one life.
Pak Beng
Tonight we sleep in Pak Beng and the view I have of the Mekong, from the top of the Pak Beng mountains, will remain unforgettable.

The rest of the trip...
We were supposed to leave early this morning but it seems that one of the passengers forgot to wake up. Laotian beer and whisky are effective sleeping pills. 😂 Finally, after our guide found him and woke him up, he arrived at the boat and we set off again on the waves.
Until Luang Prabang, I take the time to look at what surrounds me.
The poor people, but who live in harmony with nature.
The happy children who wave to us.
The gold miners who dream of wealth.
The peanut plantations.
The elephant who comes to greet the boat
We stop at the Pak Ou Caves. These caves are an important Buddhist site but research suggests that its importance predates the Buddhist period that began in the 15th century. Archaeological research attests the use of the site, probably from the Neolithic (+/- 5000 years BC) to the present day.
They are still used to pray to the god Phi, Buddha, and Hindu gods.
credit: luangprabang-laos.com
After sailing more than 300 km in two days, we arrive in Luang Prabang where we will spend a few days before leaving for a destination that is still unknown to us.
A Matcha tea ice cream, garnished with red beans, celebrates my arrival. I could not miss this Laotian specialty.

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