Slow boat to Luang Prabang - Day 1 Concluded

For most of the first day, the Mekong was a decidedly medium-sized river, usually with gently sloping banks on both sides. We passed a lot of small villages, such as the one pictured below, with a cluster of houses, some cultivated land, and some boats.

Several times we briefly stopped at one to load or unload some boxes, or take on a few passengers and let them off at another village.

We also saw many solo fisherman in their own long boats.

Whenever we stopped, there were usually extremely cute children on the beach to greet us. We also frequently saw them playing in the water and diving off the rocks near the villages.

By sunset, the river had started to open up a bit (as well as cool down) and we were looking forward to a rest.

We stopped just after dark at a village where they unceremoniously dumped all our backpacks in a huge heap which took quite a lot of sorting-out. Since we didn't have a plan for accommodation, Jen and I decided to talk to the touts and accept anything that seemed like a reasonable room for under $10. The first person we talked to was offering one for about $8, so we snatched it up. We ate a delicious dinner of stir-fried bamboo shoots at a nice small hole-in-the-wall and turned into bed.

When we awoke in the morning, this is what we discovered our street looked like.

I definitely got the feeling that the town consisted of this single road, leading down to the river. It provided a very relaxing view while we ate our breakfast and watched the town's children walk down to the river holding hands, or riding bicycles.