So we found one another in the middle of the Nam Ou on a bridge to the rice paddies. Accommodation and the mood of the villagers being what it was, we chose to travel back to Luang Prabang the next morning by slow boat. Not a big boat, mind you, but small worn cushions on small straight backed stools. I couldn't see the pilot because the luggage of dozens of French people was piled in the front space. Fortunately my bag was on an outside edge and I had kept my toilet paper in my purse...always a good policy when traveling in Laos. The boat beached itself twice...once for a pee stop...bless that pilot!...and once for portage because the river was too low to allow us to stay on...we walked in a crazy line, dozens of French people and Muzzy and I wandering hopefully on a path alongside the river. We rejoined the boat quite a hike further on and having my bag on the outside afforded me the opportunity to forage for two of the nut bars I brought just for this occasion. Never were nut bars so welcome!!! Side note: it has been rare to see Americans on this trip...mostly Germans and French though we did meet 2 Greek boys at dinner the other night.
Our friends Ann and Denny continued on to Muong Ngoi. Denny is an ex-pat living in Albi, France since the Vietnam War. Ann Crittenden was a war correspondent for Newsweek during the Vietnam War in Hanoi and Luang Prabang. She told us about the last days in Hanoi and her visit to Luang Prabang when the Mekong was heavily mined and it was a dusty, rural, sad village on hard times. She is an author and playwright who lives in Washington D.C. I promised to meet Ann on Monday at her guest house in LP and take her to the weaving village...yes...Muz and I spent 100,000 kip on a tuk tuk to the old weaving village where I am happy to say the house that was so charming and had been torn down is now restored to former glory complete with a gorgeous upstairs full of antique fabric and costumes. I found my yardage...exactly what I was looking for...and the nice young man who speaks excellent English remembered us because we contributed greatly to the economics of the village on our last trip and did so again this time. I got a free scarf and two glasses of water and many "wais" as I toted my 3 bags of silk back into town...this was after having it confirmed that there is now a bamboo foot bridge over the Nam Ou that feeds directly from LP to Ban Xong Kham...the weaving village...no wonder the tuk tuk driver took a contented nap while I shopped.
Anyway...LP is prospering, changing but in a nice way. It is still charming and the people are still wonderful. The night market is on hard times but still optimistic. Laos is still the nicest place to be and I am grateful and lucky that we are here. We have booked a boat trip on the very cushy Luang Say boat back up to Houayxai and into Thailand...two days on the Mekong, an indulgence, but half the price we were quoted to go the other way when we were in the States. So we will end up with a couple of days in Chiang Rai...can the Pie Lady pursuit be far behind? (Muz felt so bad, Cris, that he changed our entire itinerary to continue the search) We had to refund our Lao Air tickets to Bangkok on the 5th and that is another story...
Suffice it to say that we are having a good trip. We have moved from the back rooms at the Xieng Mouane guesthouse to a front one again...I will be able to open my shutters and watch the monks in the morning. Muz was up early to catch the monks on their morning passigieata and practice his "blurry shots". We will try to post photos when we return to Thailand. Nong Kiaw was a whole story alone...past times, not as nice as up north in previous years, and a little too late to visit now, I think. But...the river trip was amazing and will be again.
Until next time...
Sok Dee (good luck, happy journeys)
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