Slow Boat through Laos

I would not wish my experiences of the past few days on my worst enemies. I have traveled for three days non stop, but I finally arrived in Luang Prabang.

I crossed the Mekong River border into between Thailand and Laos at Chiang Khong in the pouring rain. A small motor boat sped me across the river into the Laos town of Huay Xai.

I passed through customs without any problems and exchanged the last of my Thai baht for Laos Kip only to receive a wad of cash very similar to Monoply money that made me feel like a millionaire.

From Huay Xai a large group of people and I boarded a small, wooden, covered, ferry motor boat to make the trip down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang.


The slow boats

There are two ways to make this trip: slow boat or speed boat. The slow boat takes 48 hours, and the speed boat takes six hours, but there have been a few fatalities in the past year.

I took the slow boat, and it was an experience I can only laugh about. The speed boats for the day were all canceled, so all the customers were crammed onto the slow boat. People were sitting in the aisles, on the floor, next to the engine, everywhere. There was not a single inch of free space on the entire boat for the duration of the six hour first leg of the journey.


No room to move


Best seat was in the window

We arrived at the small one road town of Pakbeng about 7pm and stayed there for the night. As I got off the boat with my backpack and bags, I was approached by several locals and offered a room at a nearby guesthouse, marijuana, and opium within a matter of 30sec. Unbelievable.


Pakbeng-- a one road town

A small group of new friends from the boat checked into a quaint guesthouse with an immaculately clean bathroom, ate some dinner, played cards and drank a few BeerLao before going to bed.


Boy bathing in the street before bedtime

The next day was the same as the first. Another long and crowded boat ride down the Mekong, but this time I could look out the window and take in some of the wonderful jungle scenery.


Scenery down the Mekong


Approaching Luang Prabang

We arrived in Luang Prabang about 5pm just as a massive rain storm started. The rains kept many people from getting off the boat, but I grabbed my bags and made a run for it.

I haven't had a chance to explore this town yet, but so far I'm very, very surprised. It's nice, clean, and almost looks high brow. There are many shops and restaurants lit up in the night, and it seems to be a very cool city.

More later.