Fracas in Huay Xai >> Travel: Laos, Myanmar, Thailand 29

Oct 30: Night, Pak Beng

The day started well.

We left Tammila cheerfully, buoyed by the sunny day and the anticipation of visiting another country for the first time. After seeing speedboats thundering past with small groups of helmeted passengers sandwiched within, we decided on the two-day alternative, by slow boat. A speedboat gets you there in six to eight hours - if you do not smash into anything first.

After Thai immigration, we were led to one of those slim longtails. Before we pushed off, the female half of the middle-aged couple manning the boat asked for B20 each for the cross-river trip. I suddenly remembered our guesthouse owner's ealier reminder to tell anyone asking for more money that we had already paid the fare for the entire trip from the Thai side to Luang Prabang in Laos. So I shook my head and said we had paid up, waving our receipt. They smiled, the man stowed our bags and off we went.

No problem at the Lao immigration in Huay Xai. The young officer checked our visas, did the required paperwork, stamped our passports and smiled us off. We were early so we walked around a bit and went to the bank to change some kip, the local currency.

People walked in and out of the bank with wads of cash in roomy plastic bags or large paper envelops. We decided to change only a small amount of money as we had limited storage space. Even for the little we changed, we left with a small stack of Lao notes!

Just above the pier was the police post. Some passengers were already waiting there so we joined them. After a short wait, our passports were collected for the police to check. Another short wait and we were told to go downhill to board our boat.

Trouble began with boarding.

First, we had to clamber up and down the slightly muddy slope just to reach our boat. Then, to get into our boat, everyone had to carry their bags across a 20-cm wide wooden plank, one end attached to the small entrance of the boat while the other end was wedged into the sludgy shore to keep it from floating away. There was no jetty although there were several other boats parked next to ours.

Except for one or two reaching out to steady the more tentative passengers, the rest of those working at the boats and the pier simply hung around to gawk.

Seats in our boat came in the form of a long bench hugging each side. It would have been comfortable enough for 30 perhaps, but packing over 60 people with backpacks into this long, slim contraption was asking for a disaster to happen.

We saw boats returning from Luang Prabang with 10 to 20 passengers and did not realise they intended to overload our vessel until everyone was wedged in, still waiting for the police post uphill to return our passports.

More trouble came a-calling, in the form of a young chap waving a few leaves of paper. "Compulsory" insurance at 30 baht each, he said. Each of us got a piece of photocopied A4 paper claiming to be a notice from the government.

An excerpt (spelling, punctuation and grammar as appeared):
The assurance Law 29.10.1990
The decree of mistry of finance No 259MF dated 13/4/1994
... Every body will must have covering from Lao inssurance before will you trip and travel different place ...

It was signed and chopped, purportedly by the "MANAGER TRANSPORT STATION", "BOKEO, Dated 25.5.01".

The guy also passed around a brochure advertising travel insurance from the Allianz Group. It was the kind of information pamphlet you could easily pick up from the insurance office or an agent. There was nothing "government" about this slightly grubby brochure. The rates, advertised in US$ and kip for travel within the country and overseas, also did not tally with the 30 baht demanded.

Being the last few to totter onboard, Annie and I ended up at the end furthest from the entrance of the boat. By the time Insurance Man came to us, our boat was packed to the gills and the guy had to remain at the entrance, limiting his effectiveness to dragoon the entire boatload into coughing up the dough. Unsurprisingly, those who sat nearest to him came under the most pressure to shell out that 30 baht. The rest of us, snug against a huge cylinder of flammable fluid, decided we might as well save that 30-baht insurance.

When we demanded for our passports, Insurance Man insisted we pay up first. He managed to 'persuade' a few of those seating next to him to pay up. The rest of us declared we could spare the day waiting. Of course, the loudest nays came from those of us sitting far, far away from Insurance Man!

But, I did not think he heard us.

By now, the father-and-son boat crew had disappeared and Insurance Man was looking increasingly pinched the longer we held out. Despite an hour of such shenanigans, the majority of our boatload remained recalcitrant, refusing to yield even a baht to Insurance Man. Finally, someone handed over several stacks of passports. Insurance Man slunk off in ignoble defeat.

The supposedly nefarious scheme had turned into a Mr Bean-like sort of farce. The scamming locals seemed rather inept as villains. Perhaps we got them on an off day?

"Singapore! Singapore!"

A blond guy with sun-sea-sand complexion waved our red passports energetically. Besides a couple from Africa (I think), we seemed to be the only non-white on board, our shoulder bags dwarfed by hulking backpacks. I grinned and collected our passports more sedately. The atmosphere in the boat was less tense now that we had our passports back.

Our boat captain appeared with his family - wife, mother, teenage son and a younger boy or girl. The family packed into our end, after the flammable fluid, and closed off that section.

We did not know at the time, but they had taken away our only toilet on board.

The captain moved to the other end while his teenage son ran along the edge of the boat, releasing the tethers. A couple more passengers joined the captain at the front. The engine rumbled; Ban Huay Xai receded into the distance.

Then, we heard angry shouts.

Since it was very cramped inside, some passengers moved on to the roof. When any of the women tried this, either the captain or his son got very excited. One would physically blocked the way up, gestured firmly and insisted that the women return to their bench. Must be the age-old belief that it is bad luck to allow a woman on top of the boat (and men?).

The boat crew certainly needed any luck bestowed on our dangerously overloaded vessel.

The waters were treacherous, with seemingly calm stretches suddenly morphing into swirling eddies. It was not comforting to see the crew turning pale on occasions or to witness that pinched look on the son's face as he hurried by.

To our relief, the crew was skilled and experienced, as the captain navigated the packed boat safely past numerous eddies and rocks whose tips were barely visible on the surface of the water. I am sure we would sink into deep trouble in lesser hands.

During the day, we stopped at a few villages to drop a couple of people off and to pick up or deliver sacks of goods. Since the boat's only toilet had been declared off limits by the captain and his family in residence, those who wanted to answer nature's call simply find a discreet spot on land during one of our pit stops. Some of the guys got on to the roof and emptied into the river.

Actually, it is cleaner to do your business outdoors than to pay for the use of a filthy loo in someone's backyard. So we find out later in our Laos journey. But, wisdom comes from experience. At this stage, we are still disconcerted by the alternatives offered to our idea of a toilet.

So I was glad when we reached Pak Beng at six in the evening. It was getting dark. We forked out for an overpriced room so I could clean up with hot water. I am feeling particularly yukky because I am having my period. Annie, in the meantime, sorely needed somewhere softer to rest her back. She was beginning to spot a couple of blue-black patches on the area along her spine, from leaning her 'fat-free' back against the wooden support of the boat all day.

The electricity in our hotel is erratic.

The lights in our room flickered out briefly. I took a shower with my torch within grabbing distance. When we left our room at 7pm, the place was completely dark.

People were eating dinner in candle light.

Out came our torches as we explored Pak Beng's one main street in search of dinner. In the end, we headed back to our hotel's dimly lit cafe for an indifferent meal of soup noodles. In the middle of our meal, we heard several cracks. The waiter, passing by with a bowl of soup, had stepped on a beetle the size of a ping-pong ball. He continued, crunching across the hapless insect, oblivious to the destruction he had wreaked and left behind on the floor.

Today has been interesting. I have been taken out of my comfort zone. So has Annie, I am sure. But, it is not everyday that we are treated to the might and beauty of the Mekong.

I look forward to another day on the Mekong. And the rest of our Laos sojourn. I think Laos has much to lavish on us.

Budget (for two in baht or kip as indicated)

Breakfast >> B95 + Boat to Luang Prabang >> B1,100 + Lunch (packed) >> B60 + Room B>> 400 + Dinner >> K14,000

Next... Two metres above Luang Prabang