Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
It was time to leave beautiful and calm Chiang Mai. What better way to enter Laos than on a 3 day, 2 night journey via a slow boat.
On day 1 we drove up to the border town, Chiang Khong where we were put up in a pretty cool hut-style accommodation. Approximately 50 metres from our resort was the Mekong River, overlooking Laos. It was surreal, here we are on Thailand soil with our destination country only a stones throw away.
We were lucky to witness a free riverside concert organised by a local radio station. It was a great atmosphere, lots of stalls, families gathered under blankets on the hill sides and kids running around in their pyjamas. It was nice to see the community coming together to enjoy a night of family fun (for free). Wish we still had that community feeling in England.
Ro and I ate our first ever deep fried cricket.. Tasty! Ro said it tasted like nutty chicken and the texture was surprisingly meaty. I on the other hand didn't think it tasted of anything. It was just crunchy.
On day 2 we woke up at 6.30am filled with excitement, ready for the journey of a lifetime which would take us over the Thai - Laos border, through the Laos countryside and to our destination, Luang Prabang. To cut a very long story short our slow boat finally departed the pier at 12.30pm. We spent 4 hours being transported in different vehicles through Laos immigration and then from one make-shift shop to another in the hope that we would buy lots of food and drinks before boarding.
So we finally arrived at the pier, walked down a set of steep, lop-sided stairs to board the long boat. We were told to drop our bags at the back of the boat and take a seat. By this point I was super excited especially when it felt as though the boat had started moving.
The excitement came to a sudden halt as soon as the boat "manager" told us to move over to the neighbouring [full] boat. We were warned about this alongside all the other horror stories on good ol' Tripadvisor. He insisted that all 30 of us should sit on the floor in the aisle. No way were we moving! We paid for a seat! We (mostly Americans, Canadians and Europeans) remained united and refused to move over. They tried to threaten us with all sorts but there was no way any of us were agreeing to sit on the floor. They even started moving our bags onto the other boat without notifying us. At which point some travellers got annoyed, marched over to the other boat and carried their bags back onto the boat we were sitting on.
One man in particular was still searching for his bag. All of a sudden the other boat started to move, he started to shout for them to stop but either they didn't hear him or they just didn't care. So he ran for his life down the aisle and jumped off the boat as fast as he could. It was like something out of an action movie. We cheered as he ran back on our boat. Moral of the story - don't trust anyone.
Oh and we won! The fight for our rights definitely paid off. Our boat journey was most definitely an interesting one. The view down the Mekong river is beautiful. Apart from countless forests, mountains and giant rock formations we saw elephants, fishermen and the odd local bathing in the river.. The photos always tell a better story than I do. The view of the front section of the boat was hilarious - a bunch of drunk westerners singing and behaving all crazy. During this journey we befriended the non-alcoholic kind, Richard and Emilie from Canada who plan to settle in Korea for a year or two to teach English after travelling Asia, Gabriella and Jacob from Poland who spent a month in India and plan to learn English in the Philippines before moving to Aus indefinitely and Christoph from Germany who is on a 7 week holiday.
The long boat itself is equipped with ripped out minibus seats which have been loosely aligned in rows. So if you move too much or too quickly you could fall backwards and take the entire seat down with you. There is a small bar at the back of the boat serving non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages so as you can imagine the journey got even more interesting as time went on. The bar also sold out-of-date crisps, which Ro and I ate. We had no choice! We were starving! It was either that or pot noodles!
We arrived at Pakbeng, just before sunset around 5.30pm. A small riverside village in Laos with lots of "resorts" overlooking the Mekong and in my head I was praying for nice-ish accommodation. Ok so here's an example of what happens when you book a room without doing any research or checking out photos of the place.. I HATED IT!! The bathroom (if you can even call it that) gave me the heebie jeebies!! The bed sheets were stained and ripped so we slept in our sleeping bags. The person who created sleeping bags is a genius!! That was a first for me, sleeping on a dressed bed, in a sleeping bag. It felt like a cocoon and I probably looked like one too. It was a little uncomfortable at first because I felt restricted but once I started warming up it felt nice and cosy.
The trusty Tripadvisor reviews said we should arrive at the boats before 8.30am to get a seat. There was no way we were sitting on the floor so it was yet another early morning start for us. Woke up at 6.30am, skipped the shower (it was gross but then so was my hair as now it'd been 4 days since I washed my hair last), had brekkie on a terrace overlooking the river then made our way to the pier at 8am. It seems we were travelling with a bunch of early birds, one boat was already half full.
Our second day on the slow boat was a lot quieter. All the party animals were on the other boat. The most excitement we had was when our seat collapsed and we landed on the floor with the seat. We were in hysterics. The lady working at the bar came to our rescue and helped us to erect the seat back again.
After a non-stop 7 hour boat ride we arrived in a small village just outside Luang Prabang. We grabbed our bags and literally leaped out of the boat onto the pier. The gap was massive, especially for someone with short legs like me. The drunkards were so entertaining. Watching them stumble out of the boat, falling into the water then climbing up the steps was hilarious. One guy tumbled and fell, then as soon as he got back up his trousers fell to his ankles and everyone burst out laughing.
The fair few who managed to get up the stairs without falling were having near death experiences on the main road. It was as if they were blind as well as off their trolley. I'm surprised no one was hit by a tuk tuk.
Apparently the boat used to stop at Luang Prabang which would've saved us a tuk tuk ride to our guesthouse, the Kounsavan Guesthouse. This is not the case anymore so we were forced to get a ride into town. I guess the tuk tuk drivers need to make a bit from tourists too. Typical!
What an experience. In this instance it most definitely is all about the journey and not just the destination!
- comments
suki Kamboz Crickets! Have to say i have a new found respect for you two! Loving the blog you are capturing the spirit n vibe of your travels for us to enjoy xxx