Day 42 River trip










 Tuck tuk, boat, swim and village visit that was our day. Jen and our host family boy Bee Bee  floated away down the river in a very strong current - his father celebrated and I began to mourn the loss of my banker and mother of my children. Fortunately they turned up down stream off the little island we were moored on.  Yet I jump the gun, first we had to get there. The tuk tuk seemed very unstable and knowing the condition of the front tyre we were both concerned as we hit the dirt roads that were dusty, sandy and full of furrows. We got there safely and another French couple in the other tuk tuk arrived soon after. We were merely doing the river trip- they were doing a trek and sleeping in the jungle overnight. Their guide turned up shortly after- still drunk from the night before. We felt smug we had not opted to do this trek, whilst concerned for the young French couple.

A 45 minute boat ride in a very basic river boat was some relief from the burning sun. We dropped them off upstream and their guide proceeded to throw up. We gave them warnings that if they did not feel safe to ditch now. They decided to take the risk with their scruffy and inebriated guide. We carried on upstream where we landed at a small island and enjoyed a good time swimming and having lunch. Jen being Jen she ventured into the fast flowing water eddys and drifted down stream with the young boy- she was out of sight for a while but she was obviously confident with her many years of reading the water as a canoeist.

After lunch we were back downstream stopping off at avery remote village. It seemed very poor and untouched by modernity. We visited a typical house and then their graveyard where the convention is to leave precious artifact of the deceased around the graveside . Motorbikes and sound systems littered their gravestones. 

A very precious memory of our last day in Banlung- the family were lovely and we’ve had a great time. Onward tomorrow on the bus. What awaits us nobody knows but I will still have my banker with me.

Comments

  1. Dr FeelgoodFebruary 17, 2024 at 1:36 PM

    Congratulations for 6 weeks on the road!
    Very glad the banker survived the river experience!
    Love the photo taking water-carrying domestique duties to another level 😳😜- glad to see the scooters also get to cool off!

    ReplyDelete
  2. B&MFebruary 18, 2024 at 12:19 PM

    Tuc tuc a case of the the journey is the destination if ever there was one.
    Fascinating how the instrument of demise is is featured in the graveyards, here it would be beefburgers.

    ReplyDelete

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