Pick up was at 6am from the hostel in Chiang Rai for the dreaded slow boat to Luang Prabang. First, it’s a 2-hour drive to the Laos border, then a 6-9-hour boat to a little village named Pak Beng, where you stay the night and then another 9am boat from Pak Beng to Luang Prabang to arrive at 2pm. I had heard some nightmare stories – from 7hours packed in on hard wooden benches to the boats breaking down and passengers having to sleep on the side of the river.
But my trip was a dream – really a lot of fun. I meet this cool English couple on the taxi to the border (Ben from Manchester and Josie from Wales) who I sat next to on the boat. Very nice set up on the boat too. Pretty much like what you see on a train – 2 comfy train chairs on each side facing each other with a table in the middle. Far cry from the wooden benches. Once we set off it was immediately obvious that the clientele on this particular boat were going to make the best of the trip and out came the beer and whiskey – party boat! Made good friends with Ben and Josie as we shared a bottle of whiskey but also a Germany couple and a New Zealand couple – I was a 7th wheel!!
We arrived into Pak Beng pretty drunk and as a result stayed in the biggest shite hole I have ever seen but it cost 2.5e. There were lizards climbing the walls, I nearly feel through the stairs and the toilet was simply a hole in the ground. Ah look it was only one night so we dropped our back and all went out to dinner. Again, a lot of whiskey and good craic.
The next morning, after a pretty bad night’s sleep in the guesthouse from hell, we boarded the boat. I made a point of sitting next to Josie and Ben again and made sure we got there early and got the same seats as yesterday. It was a different boat this time but same set up. Perfect – or so I thought. Our seats were essentially a wind tunnel and I was freezing in my shorts and t-shirt. This trip was a lot calmer than the previous one. We didn’t drink, others did, which allowed me to take in some of the most amazing scenery you can find. Breath-taking.
We arrived into Luang Prabang at around 3pm and I started to get angry. You get scammed the minute you land. The boat is supposed to drop you in the middle of the city but instead all westerners are told to vacate the boat 10km outside of town. Then you have to get a tuk-tuk to the city centre. Now, the taxi only cost like 2.5e but that not the point – it just was annoying and not best first impression of the city. Luckily it would redeem itself soon….
Slow Boat
So pick up was at 6am from the hostel in Chiang Rai for the dreaded slow boat to Luang Prabang. First it’s a 2 hour drive to the Laos border, then a 6-9 hour boat to a little village named Pak Beng, where you stay the night and then another 9am boat from Pak Beng to Luang Prabang to arrive at 2pm. I had heard some nightmare stories – from 7hours packed in on hard wooden benches to the boats breaking down and passengers having to sleep on the side of the river.
But my trip was a dream – really a lot of fun. I meet this cool English couple on the taxi to the border (Ben from Manchester and Josie from Wales) who I sat next to on the boat. Very nice st up on the boat too. Pretty much like what you see on a train – 2 comfy train chairs on each side facing each other with a table in the middle. Far cry from the wooden benches. Once we set off it was immediately obvious that the clientele on this particular boat were going to make the best of the trip and out came the beer and whiskey – party boat! Made good friends with Ben and Josie as we shared a bottle of whiskey but also a Germany couple and a New Zeland couple – I was a 7th wheel!!
We arrived into Pak Beng pretty drunk and as a result stayed in the biggest shite hole I have ever seen but it cost 2.5e. There were lizards climbing the walls, I nearly feel through the stairs and the toilet was simply a hole in the ground. Ah look it was only one night so we dropped our back and all went out to dinner. Again a lot of whiskey and good craic.
The next morning, after a pretty bad night’s sleep in the guesthouse from hell, we boarded the boat. I made a point of sitting next to Josie and Ben again and made sure we got there early and got the same seats as yesterday. It was a different boat this time but same set up. Perfect – or so I thought. Our seats were essentially a wind tunnel and I was freezing in my shorts and t-shirt. This trip was a lot calmer than the previous one. We didn’t drink, others did, which allowed me to take in some of the most amazing scenery you can find. Breath-taking.
We arrived into Luang Prabang at around 3pm and I started to get angry. You get scammed the minute you land. The boat is supposed to drop you in the middle of the city but instead all westerners are told to vacate the boat 10km outside of town. Then you have to get a tuk-tuk to the city centre. Now, the taxi only cost like 2.5e but that not the point – its just was annoying and not best first impression of the city. Luckily it would redeem itself soon….
