Jennica & Matthew Geddert's Ramblings

Mar 16 The Mekong River Ride by Jennica

Taking the slow boat fro Huay Xai to Luang Prabang included beauty, great company and some excitement. The boat stops for night in Pak Beng, a small village halfway down the river. We secured our lodging and went out to celebrate the birthday of one of our new friends we had made over the previous thirteen hours. After a lovely night out which ended only because the generators stopped at 10:30, we headed off to bed.

Just as we were tucked in and ready to sleep, we heard a thumpedy pitter-patter above us. At first I thought of a small dog or cat, but I didn’t recall seeing indoor pets anywhere. The noise stopped abruptly in a way that seemed to eliminate the pet theory. At that point I hoped someone in the room above us had rolled an octagonal water bottle across their floor. Yes, an octagonal rolling water bottle was unlikely, but a person is always allowed to hope. Unfortunately, when we had our headlamps ready the next time we heard the noise, we saw that three large rats were scampering across a rafter/floor beam directly above our heads.

I knew we wouldn’t sleep well after that. Seeing that snout directly above my head and those little eyes looking at me crossed the line. A short decisive conversation established that we were like-mindedly thinking of paying our way out of the situation rather than enduring it. We packed up and moved to the resort up the hill. At over ten times the price of the rat-hole, that short but sound sleep, hot shower, and sumptuous breakfast (included) was worth every penny.