Sunday, February 16, 2025

Chiang Khong, Thailand to Pak Beng, Laos


Today’s trip was from Houayxay to Pakbeng-



I was up early and the owners of the cabins drove us to the border.  I was met at the entrance and given a blue sticker for Nagi Tours, then after an hour or so of passport/visa stuff, I was in a van heading for the river where numerous boats were waiting-



Our boat is really nice but we paid for the luxury.  Very worth it as not all boats have enough seating, nor do they provide food and drinks-




The Mekong-




Water buffalo-



The driver has to know where he is going as there are lots of rocks and narrow channels-




We  saw a couple ferries-




and a few bridges-



We stopped at a village-








Even though they live in the middle of nowhere, each hut has an address-



They grow sticky rice and store it here.  This building full will last a year-



About 30 families live here.  They have solar electricity, running water and a primary school. Families have as many as 10 kids-



7-11 village style-



Threshing rice-



Long boats used for fishing-



Another village along the way-



My seat mates:  Erik from Philadelphia, Helena and Charlie from the U.K.-



Arriving in Pak Beng-



Mekong Backpackers Hostel-



The town is rubby-




A tailor-



Cooking supper-



Sunset on the Mekong-



Tomorrow we leave at 8 a.m. to arrive in Luang Prabang around 4 p.m.  I would definitely recommend this.  I’ve met a lot of people and it’s a very relaxing way to travel.  Looking forward to tomorrow.

Saturday, February 15, 2025

 Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong,Thailand 

I am starting to sleep better but was still up at five which is OK.  I could spend a whole day on my iPad planning the next part of my trip.


Check out was at 12 and so I left walking towards the bus station but stopped at an Italian place for lunch. I had spinach and cream ravioli and it was so good. 


There were two buses leaving for Chiang Khong - one  on the hour and the other on the half hour. I got to the bus depot at 12:20 but was told the bus was leaving at 1 so I got on it.  It was very hot so I left my backpack and went looking for the half hour bus and sure enough there was one leaving in five minutes so I hopped on it. I visited with a man from Hungary who has been travelling since October and a woman from Sweden/Italy who has been travelling for five years! She has no home and she just goes home occasionally to visit her family-



Along the way-






The owner of Panna Kalong Bungalows said he would pick me up at a Tesco and so I was following along on the map. We turned before the store to go to the border so I got off there.  The thing about meeting at the Tesco is that I could have paid 90 baht  instead of 140 because I did not need to go to the border but no  big deal!


I am about five minutes from the border at the cutest place ever.  There are five bungalows –



and I’m in the green one-



Everything I could ever want is here –



and there is a restaurant a two minute walk away with normal prices. I spent the late afternoon and evening resting in my air-conditioned cute as can be house!


Tomorrow there is breakfast at seven and then they will take me to the border for 7:30 when I will say goodbye to Thailand and hello to Laos.


My arm is feeling better all the time – it still aches but I think the worst is over. I am noticing more and more bruising so that is going to take a while to heal. So far so good!

Friday, February 14, 2025

 The Golden Triangle, Thailand

I had one of those nights where you’re pretty sure you have slept but it feels like you’ve been awake all night although when I finally did get up at five I felt well rested. I don’t know why my arm doesn’t hurt all afternoon when I’m relaxing on my bed but as soon as I shut off the light and try to go to sleep it starts to ache.  Anyway….























Today was the day to go to the Golden Triangle.  I was supposed to pass by last Tuesday when I had my accident so….  I took a bus to Chiang Saen, the nearest town.  Walking to the bus depot- now if that isn’t redneck, I don’t know what is –



Along the way–



The Golden Triangle is 9 km from the bus depot so I called a Grab.  They are so efficient and pretty cheap too.  There is massive building across the Mekong on the Laos side and my driver explained that Laos has leased a bunch of land for 100 years to China and they have built numerous apartments, casinos and call centres-




Thailand loves it’s elephants-


Big Buddha-




Looking south at the Mekong towards Laos-



The Golden Triangle-



 is where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet on the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers-



The Hall of Opium which is a museum is a couple kilometres from the Big Buddha so I decided to walk.  Then I thought I’d throw my thumb out just to see what happened and the third vehicle picked me up.  It was a family going to Mae Sae.  In no time I was dropped off-



It’s a huge excellent and modern museum.  The entrance is a very long tunnel-



that leads to the history of the drug trade.


Where opium has been and still is produced in the world-



Poppies-




The life cycle of poppies is very interesting.  About 3 kg of seed is needed to grow one hectare.  It’s planted by sprinkling it around and it takes 1-2 weeks to come up.  The Papaver Somniferum plant is the only opium producing poppy.  It’s an annual and has been grown for years for medicinal, cooking and ornamental purposes.  Sowing occurs in October and the scoring of the seed pods happens in February.  Scoring starts four days after the petals have dropped.  When the seed pods are cut, latex/ white opium gum leaks out.  When it dries, usually over night, it turns brown and that’s the part you want-



Boiling opium-



Each family grew about half a hectare and that produced 80,000 to 120,000 plants.  Each plant has two or three pods.  It’s easy to grow as it requires minimal water and that’s only in the early stages of growth.


Opium lumps are 1.6 kg of opium wrapped in tobacco leaves to prevent sea water from seeping into the opium while it’s being trafficked-



In the 1800s, Britain, China and India were economic powerhouses and there were many trade barriers.  There were many social and economic effects of the Opium trade wars-



In the mid 1800s, countries received revenue from the opium trade.  50% of government revenues in Singapore came from opium and 25% in other countries including Thailand.  Initially the governments only taxed the sale of opium but in 1906 it got into the business of producing and selling it.  The government!  Imagine!


1924 on-



There was quite a culture to smoking opium-



Pillow boxes were made from ceramic, wood, leather and metals.  People often reclined on their sides to smoke-



Weights used to measure shipments-




Pipes-


In the 1980s, Queen of Thailand decided her country needed a change.  She understood opium production was lucrative for everyone and especially the poor so she changed the Thai culture by introducing cash crops and education.  


The museum isn’t just about opium but about all drugs such as coke in Coco-Cola-



Heroin was used as a sedative for coughs, made by Bayer at the same time they were inventing aspirin-



There was a section on how border guards find illegal drugs and of course they find coke in condoms inserted into orifices-



There was an explanation of various types of illegal narcotics-



I was waiting to enter the room showing the disaster Trudeau and the Liberals have made of our drug culture but it wasn’t there….yet!


After leaving the museum, I hitchhiked back to the Big Buddha.  Using a translator, the young couple that picked me up said they would gladly take me right to the bus depot.  That was very kind of them.  I got there in time to have lunch- roast chicken and cucumbers-



and then we were on our way.  I spent the rest of the day resting in my room. Tomorrow I will take a bus to Chiang Khong for a night and then will be picked up by Nagi of Mekong Cruises and head to do a two day slow boat trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.

Chiang Khong, Thailand to Pak Beng, Laos Today’s trip was from Houayxay to Pakbeng- I was up early and the owners of the cabins drove us to ...