8-Riverboat Journey on the Mekong

After an all-night mini-bus ride from Pai to the border town of Chiang Kong I get my Thailand exit stamp and take a boat across the Mekong River to Huay Xai, Laos...I get a 15 day visa at immigration & pay for a 2 day boat ride($9) at a travel agency where I also exchange some money..the Laos currency is the Kip which is 10,000=$1 so I get a huge bundle of 2,000 kip bills(20 cents?)...finally make it to the long wooden boat which has the engine in the back & wooden seats with thin cushion for passengers...although there are many boats all the 'farongs/foreigners' & locals get packed onto one boat..I guess I'm lucky because I have a small wooden bench all to myself....the first thing about the Mekong is that it is WIDE & the color of mud/brown...also the beauty of the green hills & mountains along the Mekong in Laos is stunning...(I will get a camera!)...memories.....stopping at every thatched- huts on-stilts Village to pick up local folks or drop off folks...speed boats occasionally roaring past us (passengers w/ lifejackets & helmets!).....our lunch 'stop' we stay onboard and the children 'hawkers' come onboard from a Village to sell Lao beer & mostly package-processed 'crap'(chips,cookies,etc)& which many tourists get..I buy some local mango slices & nuts....one stop there is a man in a cheap towel sarong with a Boars head & various flesh/meat parts of the body in a bucket..local Lao men jump off & the bargining begins...when we leave most of the Boar,included the severed head joins the boat...thankfully the guy who bought the severed head leaves a few villages later...then the next stop a live Boar joins the boat tied to the bow!(he/she doesn't like that)...but maybe it's all good because there is a Buddhist monk in front with the 'Capt.' to bless us all...the journey took 2 days(18 Hours?) with a overnight stop in Pat Beng before coming into Lubang Prubang late afternoon...lots of folks read books or played card games...I read & played a little guitar & am so thankful I brought my camping pad which saved my ass(literally!)......