| Down
a Winding River to a Mekong Gem
| Days: |
3 days (plus two flight days) |
| Location: |
Laos |
| Activities: |
Kayaking (Class 2), hiking. |
BRIEFLY
This trip combines the beauty of the foothills surrounding Luang
Prabang with the charm of paddling into one of the most beautiful
towns in Asia. We’ll paddle through bouncy water and lush
forest and then enter the broader Nam Khan with its farmlands. We’ll
sleep in homestays and experience village life, visit a beautiful
waterfall, run some rapids, visit a quiet Buddhist monastery, and
pay our respects at the grave of one of Asia’s most fearless
explorers, Henri Mouhot. Along the way, we’ll see how villagers
and fishermen utilize the river in their daily lives. On the final
day, we’ll take out at the very edge of Luang Prabang.
ITINERARY
Day 0
After reaching Luang Prabang on your own, overnight in your choice
of accommodations (own booking, own expense).
Day 1
Ride two hours on a song-taew (local bus) to the put-in on the
Nam Ming. Paddle for five hours through steep-sided forests to
the valley below. At the confluence with the Nam Khan we’ll
have a picnic lunch on the riverbank. In the afternoon, we’ll
paddle the Nam Khan whose banks are covered by a canopy of old
trees—an ideal bird habitat—and observe the various
ways villagers catch fish. We overnight in a Khmu tribal village.
Day 2
Experience a village waking up in the morning and wander through
it to see the rhythms of rural life. We then paddle through a
sparsely-populated agricultural area, stop at a beautiful Buddhist
monastery on river left to look at the role Buddhism in village
life. After a riverside lunch, we paddle downstream, disembarking to hike
through a natural area and a Hmong village, and then cross the river to
overnight in a Lao Loum village.
Day 3
We paddle downriver for 4-5 hours through some fun rapids. We’ll
stop for lunch near the grave of Henri Mouhot, a 19th century
explorer who brought Angkor Wat to the world’s attention.
We’ll arrive in Luang Prabang in the afternoon. Overnight
on own.
Day 4
Fly back to Bangkok (own booking, own expense).
For more information and prices, e-mail +662 653 9712 and +6681 450 5340
noting your country of departure.
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