A Laotian Boating Adventure: Nam Tha and Mekong River Exploration

Imagine yourself, sitting on a one-meter-wide wooden boat, a full-ball sun beating down on your sleep-deprived body. You want to sleep - need to, in fact - but you can't imagine how in the world you are going to mold your body into a comfortable enough position to get some satisfying rest. What do you do?

Don't fret: Pack Disco crew to the rescue. I don't think I've ever seen such creativity, in any form, as I saw on those boats. Bodies conformed into unfathomable shapes and sizes, squeezing and stuffing into corners and onto floorboards, searching desperately for something - anything remotely comfortable. I saw grown men and women curled into fetal positions on benches, limbs hung off the side of the boat, and gas tanks used as pillows, to name a few. We slept, we sang, we laughed, we talked, and we got splashed one too many times.

Sounds pretty rough, right? That's where you're wrong; these three days ended up being about the most comfortable and relaxing of our trip so far. They came at a time when everyone was becoming so comfortable with the group as a whole that it felt strange, almost stressful, to break off from that mold. If recent weeks led us to that point, then these last few days have provided the perfect antidote. Breaking into assigned groups of six (so as to fit on each of the three small boats) provided us a much-welcomed chance to mix up the dynamics for a while. I was thrilled by the opportunity to interact with a group of people whom I hadn't interacted before (even if most of that time was spent asleep in uncomfortable positions). Splayed out on the floor of the boat with Anna led to some truly hilarious moments. I asked her to tell me a story, and what started as the simple story of friends on a river boat quickly morphed into a magical tale about a cursed necklace called the "Chain of Treeth" (I think she meant to say truth, only to be thrown off by the sight of a tree on the river bank). A truly inspired work of fiction. That girl can only be described as quirky in the best possible way.

We didn't get a huge taste of the village in which we stayed that first night - village life can't really be accurately digested in a single day - but we gained some valuable information about one of our fearless leaders: the great Rebecca Thomas is completely, wholly, absolutely addicted to Spades (the card game, not the gardening tool (though I wouldn't be surprised if she collected those too - I think she just likes the word "spades" in any context (this is a parentheses inside a parentheses inside a parentheses - when was the last time you saw one of those))).

I mentioned Spades as we pondered what to do in the rustic (in a comfortable way) living space under our village home, and it was like a firecracker exploded in Rebecca's speckled eyes. I'm almost regretting mentioning it, since she's barely shut up about it since. Well, I would if I didn't enjoy it so much. Seriously, check out Spades if you have a chance (and three friends), you'll love it.

If the small boats were an exercise in mixing up group dynamics, then the large boat on which we spent the next day-and-a-half traveling down the Mekong River was a reminder of why we all love each other's presence so much. The large, comfortable, fully-stocked-with-snacks-and-coffee ferry of which we had to ourselves was a travelers dream come true. I don't think I saw a single frown in that period. We were all just so...content. Hayley and I broke out the ukuleles, on which Maddy D. and Anna wrote a cheeky little tune about the group (thanks to Zanna for getting me hooked on the word "cheeky"). Bananagrams was enjoyed by many. Rebecca pretty much went seat to seat making sure each member of the group was trained in the art of Spades. Butt exercises were performed. I taught a few people how to play Hearts, then subsequently shot the moon on them twice in a row (that one's for you, Dad). Our group is big on cards, if you couldn't already tell. I think everyone was a little bit sad to leave the big boat after two stress-free days.

Well, I've finished my coffee here at Cafe Joma in Luang Prabang, and I've been tasked with figuring out the brunch plan on our first free day of the trip. It was nice catching up with you. Let's do it again sometime, shall we?

Trevor Cheitlin