Last night we were told that there was a possibility to see elephants early in the morning at the river bank. And we were not disappointed. Making it even better was that our hotel was located directly across the river from where the elephants appeared. Our room had a great balcony with a great view.
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| Our room with a view |
Everyone was on board the boat by 8 AM for the second leg of our cruise. It was a cold morning on the water due in part to the high mountain ranges that hid the sun in this section of the river. Everyone was dressed as warm as possible and wrapped up in blankets provided by the cruise while sipping on hot coffee and tea.
We made our first of two stops at a more commercialized village, selling everything from local whiskey to scarfs, table cloth, quilts, carvings, and jewelry.
We got to see the rice whiskey-making process, from rice washing, cooking, to the whiskey being piped into jars.
After spending about a million kip ($100 US), we again boarded the boat and sailed to our second stop. This time, we visited 2 caves filled with Budha status of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. The caves were originally used to store the Buddhas for safekeeping from wars. But over the decades, Buddhas are brought as offerings of prayers for a good life. The Buddhas now numbers in the thousands.
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| 2nd Cave |
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| 1st Cave |
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| Cave entrance |
We hated to see the cruise over but all good things must come to an end. Before we go, we want to give a shout out to our guide Houy on the cruise, other crew members, the Captain's wife, and his two sisters.
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| L-R. Captain's wife, Prov, Captain's sister |
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| Houy |
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