Go Speed Racer, Go!

So we only had 4 days left in Laos, we wanted to make it to the Thai/Laos border to live in a treehouse and zip across the rainforest canopy with gibbons (another story for another day), but it's a 2 day bus or a 2 day slow boat along the Mekong river journey away. So what did we do? Take a 7-hour speedboat ride of course! It seemed like such a perfect solution at the time...



Yes, yes... we were all staring in disbelief. You see, when someone says "speedboat," I automatically think of hydrofoils or some other sleek watercraft straight out of Miami Vice. I wasn't expecting something that looked like it was a high school woodshop project where you are 2 inches above the water.



The boats were funny enough, but having to wear the Speed Racer-like helmets made it all that more surreal. I'm not too sure what the styrofoam would have protected when we're flying down the Mekong at 70+ kph...




And I honestly think there is more leg room on those kiddie ride boats at an amusement park that go in circles in 2 inches of water. Knee to chin for 7 hours on a wooden bench isn't fun! Still haven't completely gained all the feeling yet in my backside.

Once I got over my initial fear of us hitting something in the river, the scenery along the Mekong river was actually spectacular.






I actually have a videoclip of us zipping along the water at 40 or 50 mph but I will have to post it later.