The Slow Boat
Getting into Laos from Thailand required an overnight stay on the Thai side of the border, plus a boat ride across the river into Laos. We had been told that the immigration office opened at 8 am, so we took the first boat across the Mekong River and were among the first in line at the office. However, once we'd handed over our passports we were told that the "boss" who would be stamping our visas was eating his breakfast. The line (actually a mob) outside the office began to grow and we waited patiently for 40 minutes while breakfast was eaten. Finally I couldn't take it and I pushed myself to the window and asked what was taking so long. Apparently they wanted our money - US dollars only - and that had been the real hold up. After paying we had to board the boat that would take us down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.
The boat, nicknamed "The Backpacker Ferry," waits until everyone who wants to go down river is on. What this means is there are more people than seats for the 2-day ride. Luckily Pete and I got seats and with our pre-purchased cushions we weren't too uncomfortable. We met a group of Canadians who sat behind us and chatted a bit. It was 11:00 in the morning but the group was already letting the whiskey flow.
The slow boat is a long boat with bench seating and is open on both sides. The temperatures outside are quite warm, but there's a breeze onboard. The views are quite picture-worthy, but our first day was 6 hours long, so in addition to sight seeing we played a few rounds of cards and Travel Scrabble. The now drunk Canadian behind us asked to play a game of Scrabble, but shortly after did a face plant into the aisle of the boat, attracting attention from the other 140 passengers. I didn't want to play Scrabble with him.
As we continued the ride we stopped at a village where kids crawled in through the windows of the boat carrying Coca Cola and Pringles to sell. We passed many villages and kids playing in the river, often they waved and almost everyone on the boat took pictures. A popular seat on the boat (remember, not everyone had an actual seat) was the ledge on the side of the boat. Pete and I took turns sitting there, enjoying the mist from the river and the breeze. Pete was enjoying his turn when we heard a splash. The drunk Canadian who had also been sitting on the ledge behind us dropped into the river. Girls began screaming and Pete yelled very heroically to the captain, "Man overboard!" and the boat stopped. Immediately a crew member grabbed empty plastic containers/flotation devices and threw them to the Canadian who was poorly treading water a ways behind the boat. He was saved and the boat returned to its course. The Canadian fell asleep and I was glad that I wouldn't have to play Scrabble with him.
That night we got into the small town of Pak Beng around 6 pm. Men on the river watched our boat approach and when we docked, they immediately began calling out to the passengers trying to get us into their guest houses. They were also offering to carry our bags (for a fee) up the steep sandy hill. It is very hard to ignore swarms of aggressive salesmen, but we managed and ended up walking aimlessly into the village. There was one street and every building housed either a restaurant or a guest house. We had no trouble finding a place to stay for the night. It wasn't the best accomodations we've had, but we had a fan and breakfast was cooked for us in the morning. That night, after the electricity in Pak Beng went out, Pete and I ventured into the street to have a look at the night sky. A local man immediately offered to sell us some pot (for the third time that night), and we decided to stay in our guest house until the boat left the next morning.
Not wanting to sit in the aisles of the slow boat, we got to the boat early in the morning and got some seats. The second day of the boat ride was actually longer than the first, with more frequent stops at villages along the way. This time we picked up people or items that needed to be transfered, and this included many baskets full of chickens and roosters that were placed on top of the boat. No one fell or did anything rediculous the second day, so it was a pretty long and uneventful trip. The scenery changed from dry to jungle and we finally made it to Luang Prabang. Again we were met on the beach by locals yelling to us to try their guest house, but we wandered on our own into the city.
We found a guest house that would bargain a little. Pete finally reached an agreement on a price - 110,000 kip/about $15 a night - and we got a room with a fan, its own bathroom, bottled water, and a balcony overlooking the city and the Mekong River. We ended up staying there for 5 nights and got the impression we were among the only guests. This is not surprising since Luang Prabang has about a million guest houses and visitors coming and going every day.
