Slow Boating Down the Mekong

The next two days of our trip would see us slowly travelling from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, via Pakbeng, on a wooden boat. But first we had to cross the border into Laos.

After a rather broken night’s sleep, we had a nice breakfast in the hostel. We checked out, exchanging some Thai Bhat for Laos Kip as we went, and jumped in a pickup truck to the border crossing. Going through the Thai border was pretty simple, just a couple of passport checks. We then boarded a coach across the Mekong river to the Laos border. Here we had to complete two forms, pay US$35 each in crisp notes and provide a passport photo to get our Laos visa. Eventually after a long wait we boarded another bus to the slow boat terminal. We picked up some snacks at the local shop, then boarded the boat.

When we got on, most of the seats were taken so it looked like we would have to sit on the floor, until the manager moved people around and we got two seats together. They were at the back next to the engine though so it was pretty loud.

The seats were essentially like coach seats put in the middle of a boat. We spent the six hour journey reading, talking to the other passengers and watching the stunning scenery go by. The Mekong is a hive of activity and we saw a lot of people working and cows wandering along the river.

We arrived into Pakbeng for our overnight stop just in time for sunset. Our guesthouse owner met us at the jetty to take us in a minivan to our accommodation. A few other people from the boat decided to come with us and when we arrived, we’d been given a triple room so ended up sharing with a Belgian girl called Michelle for the night.

That evening, we met up with our new friends at Hive bar. We had some dinner, drinks and played a couple of games of pool on a rather decrepit table before having a quick wander around the streets and heading back to the guesthouse.

The next morning we had breakfast overlooking the river before making sure we arrived at the boat early to get a good seat! Turns out the boat on day two was much more comfy than day one, and we got three seats between the two of us. We were a lot nearer the front too so were able to actually hear each other speak! The day dawned pretty overcast and once we started moving it was actually pretty chilly so I ended up using my down jacket for the first time since Mount Kinabalu.

This time the journey took almost eight hours but again, we weren’t bored as there was lots to look at. The boat was a bit like a local bus so kept dropping people off on the way down, which was great as it meant we kept turning side on to the river and got some great views!

The only sad part was at one stop where a load of children were on the shore waving at us. Initially we thought they were just excited to see us but in reality they wanted to sell bracelets. The image of these kids’ arms clamoring for attention through the side of the boat was pretty shocking.

One thing to avoid if you’re thinking of entering Laos by boat is the speedboat. These are highly dangerous, to the extent that the drivers wear motocross helmets, but the passengers do not! ​

As with all our long journeys so far, I’ve been surprised at how quickly time passes and how I’ve yet to be bored. I guess that’s because there is a lot of fantastic scenery to observe. We also met some lovely people - T and Joe who gave us some great advice on Myanmar and Nepal where they’d just come from, Becky and Mel who had just left uni and were travelling onto Australia, Laura and Jamie who were on a six week holiday around South East Asia, Rheanne and Arlo who stayed in the same guesthouse as us in Pakbeng, and Michelle who we shared a room with.

Again, we could have flown to Luang Prabang and saved ourselves two days travelling, but it was definitely worth it for the scenery and the people we met, particularly as we were all together in Luang Prabang for a few days after we arrived.