On Mekong River, a photo from Oudomxai, North

Photographer's Note

When I see pictures on TE, very often they evoke memories of my journeys. Then, I look at my archive, I prepare some photos to show the next day, I am "inspired", but then comes another inspiration. Recently, I have prepared pictures from Tanah lot, Yaroslavl, Aranjuez, I would like to show more photos from my trips to Ireland and Warmia, but I saw yesterday Paul photos of Pak Beng.
I was there in 2003. We went from the Thai Border by a long and narrow slow boat, after seven or eight hours there was a stop in Pak Beng. The Mekong is rather narrow here and there are a lot of boulders, it is difficult to navigate. I looked in Google Map and I see that now there are quite many hostels there. It was not the case in 2003. I remember how I was amazed, that there are only a few buildings and the market, but the place is on the map. The next day we went the next seven hours to Luang Prabang.

The journey was fun. As you can see, there was no comfort. And imagine that all backpacks were on the roof, so how the boat was overloaded. In the beginning, the lady came and some heavier people had to change places to make a better balance. Even greater fun was in Pak Beng. The shore was steep and muddy. I was fast and run to the hotel, but I am not sure if all found the place there. It was a great adventure. I was always crazy, so I was delighted to go like this. Was any toilet there? I do not remember.

Pak means the river mouth, so Pak Beng means there is a river Beng nearby.

So in the main photo, you can see how we spent two days, 8 hours each, like sardines in the box.
In Workshop, the small table near the river means the border crossing. And in the second Workshop, landing in Pak Beng. Look at our luggage on the roof. Fun!!

ikeharel, Royaldevon, holmertz, jhm, johnjmoe, PaulVDV, PiotrF, COSTANTINO, papagolf21, burmaman has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (75378) 2020-11-21 3:30

Hello Malgo,

What a good idea!
We don't often see intimate details of how travel occurred! We can see quite clearly just how closely these passengers were packed! Most people are unaware of you and your camera but aren't looking at the scenery either!

The long boat looks to have a very packed roof. Were the backpacks secured? Travelling quickly down river was there a chance of them falling overboard?

I found these photographs very interesting, a good extra link to those photographs shown by Paul.

Have a good, safe w/e,
Bev :-)

holmertz (92842) 2020-11-21 4:05

Hello Malgo,
You often describe how there were nearly no other tourists in places you visited, but this photo tells us something else. As so often, the more uncomfortable a journey is, the more enthusiastic you get. But you say it yourself: you are a bit crazy. ;-)
Photo wise I prefer both workshops because they show some of the scenery and not only western tourists.
Best regards,
Gert

jhm (202989) 2020-11-21 4:49

Hello Malgo,

I see you maked the same trip than us friend Paul out of Brussels
Also a trip on the Mekon river, with the visitors on the boat
Real a nice nature image too.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John

Silvio1953 (205685) 2020-11-21 5:18

Ciao cara Malgo, great perspective on boat full of people, excellent clarity, wonderful colors and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

lousat (129945) 2020-11-21 5:50

Ciao Malgo,this was also a great adventure, your photos are a precious complement to Paul's post, showing us the conditions of travel inside the boat and the arrival. Maybe now it's more comfortable, but then it really seems like a long and tiring undertaking. In fact I don't see smiling faces on the boat, luckily you didn't sink as it happened to me in Gambia .. ehehe .. Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

ChrisJ (160008) 2020-11-21 6:05

Hello Malgo,

I also did a trip to the Pak Ou Caves in such a boat. A good daily life scene depicting how tourists travel in these parts. Tfs!

PaulVDV (54833) 2020-11-21 8:39

Hello Malgo,
Nowadays the boats are much wider and a bit more comfortable.
I would think longer too. But I don't know if you were in the middle or at one end of the boat when you took this picture.
Today's boats have two seats side by side on the left and on the right and there is a wide aisle in the middle.
The luggage is loaded into the hold. There's a primitive toilet on board and you can buy drinks and noodle soup.
Pak Beng is not large, but near the Mekong almost every house is a hotel/hostel or restaurant. A little inland along the small river Beng, several people live. But there you won't see tourists anymore. We were only two to arrive by bus from Oudomxai. Just about everyone arrives by boat and that is only in the late afternoon or early evening.
Pak Beng isn't a place where tourists stay. But overnights are comfortable and cheap, and there is a wide choice of dining options.
I had a good budget room with a view on the Mekong and the hotel owner took his guests by car to the jetty in the morning. The shore is indeed very steep but it wasn't muddy at the time.
Pak Beng isn't a destination but a comfortable stopover along the journey.
I also don't remember children going to the landing or departure jetty. That was sometimes the case at the even smaller moorings along the way. There were a number of stops at very small villages that were not even marked on the map.
The trip from Pak Beng to Luang Prabang would take 7 hours, but eventually it turned out to be 8. Despite the fact that it was a nice trip, I remember being glad I didn't have to travel a second day on the boat.
It's like I wrote in my previous note.
Anyone who has travelled in Laos in the past will not like it that much anymore today. It is busier, more commercial, but also more comfortable. Whoever goes there for the first time will love it.
In any case, I loved being there and felt very homesick for Laos when I later arrived in its southern neighbour country.
Interesting to see the pictures of 2003.
Best regards, Paul

kasianowak (15818) 2020-11-21 10:43

Czesc Malgosiu
Wspaniala podroz i super uchwycony moment. Nie jest latwo fotografowac grupy ludzi, nawet jezeli siedza w miejscu scisnieci jak sardynki!. Na pierwszym miejscu lady in red. :-)
Bardzo fajne przejscie graniczne i jak dobrze ze mozna tak po prostu robic zdjecia.
Polski fotograf pochowany na cmentarzu w Jedlni to Artur Tabor:

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_Tabor

Pozdrawiam serdecznie
Kasia

pierrefonds (103519) 2020-11-21 16:24

Hi Malgo,

You have cpatured well the expression of the tourists, sleeping, thinking and observing. The point of view is showing the details of the interior of the boat. The light has a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

PiotrF (52330) 2020-11-21 16:30

Czesc Malgo
Toaleta w ciagu 8 godzin rejscu nie jest niezbedna, wazne ze klimatyzacja byla. Jak tu podrozowac teraz gdyby trzeba bylo dystans zachowac? przynajmniej bagaze by sie zmiescily.
Ciekawa prezentacja
Dzisiaj w LDZ tez bylo nieustajaco glosne 8* ... tylko policja zmienia sie niestety w milicje
pozdrawiam
Piotr

COSTANTINO (104143) 2020-11-21 23:15

Hello dear Malgorzata and have a nice Sunday
i looked at the date of the photo...
......2003.02,00...too many years ago
and too many people together...
a forgotten photo in our days
because of covid 19
regards
Costantino

papagolf21 (152599) 2020-11-21 23:33

Bonjour, chиre Malgo,
Les voyages forment la jeunesse et йpuisent la santй (la fatigue est apparente sur les diffйrents personnages, il y en a mкme un qui va tomber par le poids de la fatigue ! ;o) - )
C'est bien de rendre compte de cette faзon les facйties des voyages.
Amitiйs.
Philippe

pajaran (102612) 2020-11-22 0:27

Pozdrav.
Interesantan i lep pogled, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama, kontrastom, perskpektivom i dobrim tekstom.
Dobar rad sa lepim fotografijama u radionici.
Lepe fotografije i secanje.
Zelim vam lep dan za odmor, sve najbolje.
Paja.

Greeting.
Interesting and beautiful view, well shown with beautiful colors, contrast, perspective and good text.
Good work with nice photos in the workshop.
Beautiful photos and memories.
I wish you a nice day off, all the best.

jmdias (102878) 2020-11-22 7:55

malgo

I liked more the WS, mas the main post give us a sense of the trip. nice details of this trip with the famous river in evidence.
take care

jorge

burmaman (902) 2020-11-22 11:14

Hello Malgo!
Not a great shot but a good documentation about travelling on the Mekong in 2003.In 2005 I was lucky having a wooden bench for me alone, because I took the boat to the north from Pak Beng to Ban Houayxay to cross the border to Thailand and it was not very busy because most travellers take the other direction.
This photo brings back good memories to my travels I have done about 20 years ago.
Because of unemployment because of Corona I watch Tv about 10 times more than usual, mainly documentation about many places I`ve visited and it causes wanderlust.
So it is very nice to see photos like this.
Thank you for showing this one.
I hope we can travel again some day and I hope you can explore Sri Lanka on day ,realy worth a visit and easy to ravel.
Best regards,Ronny
Stay healthy!

BennyV (32570) 2020-11-24 9:12

Strange locals...:)

It's the kind of scene we try to avoid when travelling. My best memories of travelling are the trips when we went for weeks without meeting other westerners. Not always easy...

...but right now, being in this corona thing, I'd just love to be aboard of this boat. 8 hours onboard, 2 days in a row...where do I sign up?

Benny