Today is Clinton’s
birthday so we decided to take a boat ride to a mountain town down the river to
a touristy town. It was raining as we
took the taxi to the boat dock. Seven of
us climbed into a little motor boat with a tarp for a roof. We puttered down the river as rain came in
through the sides and through the tarp.
I was cold and wet and wondering how long 4 hours of this would last.
Slowly mountains popped up here and there
along the river.
We passed bamboo boats
being pushed with sticks or with motors.
We watched fishermen and men using long sticks like chopsticks to take
the green plants from the water. The
water was so shallow we had to coast in some places and we could see the
bottom. I was still wondering if the boat
ride was a good idea until the mountains became bigger and closer to the
water. As I looked out at the beautiful
scenery it was a little easier to forget about my wet seat and the cold wind. We pulled off at a cave in the side of the
mountain. A man used a stick to steer our bamboo boat into the cave.
The water cave contained glittery rocks and
formations, but no bats.
After lunch at
a restaurant along the way we continued down the river to our destination. Our driver sped passed large boats filled with
tourists. We bounced through their wake
then splashed right by them.
The city was a nice tiny little tourist town. There were many vendors, shops, and
restaurants that catered to tourists.
This evening we went out for dinner with Clinton for his birthday then
went to bed with no plans for the morning.
