Pak Beng to Luang Prabang

Directly opposite my balcony was a river beach where the mahout from the elephant camp brings elephants to swim every morning, not much time to linger though because we were due to get underway at 07:30.

Around lunchtime we passed through a rail bridge under construction- part of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative. The boat guide explained that while the project is expected to bring major benefits to Laos it was also contentious because no local people were employed on it, except for some very mundane tasks- like construction camp support and low level laboring, which seems to echo classic nineteenth century imperialism.

After lunch we spent about an hour at the Pak Ou Caves not many photos because I didn't bring my flash and couldn't get good light. Then on to Ban Xang Hai one of the two Lao Lao whisky villages- one upstream and one downstream of the caves, which one you visit depends on the direction of your travel. The caves are a Buddhist shrine and it’s considered disrespectful to appear in front of a Buddha after consuming alcohol.

These photos are from October 2018 when water levels in the Mekong River were very high in 2019 I returned for the same trip and saw the lowest water levels in 60 years, to compare the difference on my photos of Houay Xai 2019, Ban Houay Xai to Pak Beng 10/10/2019 and Pak Beng to Luang Prabang 11/10/2019.