After the motorcycle experience from Pai to Chiang mai in the South East Asia Trip in 2009, my friends and I traveled to Chiang Khong to stay there for one night. Chiang Khong is the starting place of the slow boat to Laos. The following morning we would took a bus for ten minutes, a mini boat for fifteen minutes and then we were dropped off at the border of Laos to check into the country. This took hours, but after everyone had their visas we were herded into a tuk-tuk to be taken to a café.

Decisions: Bus vs. Slow Boat

In the café something surprising happened. Our tour operator informed us we could either take the bus to Luang Prabang or the slow boat. The bus would take 11 hours; the boat would take two full days. This was not the surprising part because we were warned about this bus trip in the guidebooks. The roads are very bad so the ride is sickening and it is not particularly scenic. The bus also tends to breakdown because of the road conditions so it generally takes more than 11 hours (Note: this was in 2009 so a lot could’ve changed since then). What surprised me was the fact that everyone on our bus chose to take the bus to Luang Prabang. Did we not all take the bus to the border to experience the slow boat? Apparently not, we were the only ones who stuck with our initial decision to go by boat.

I’m not going to mention the option to take the insanely and unnecessarily dangerous option of speed boat to Laos. No one chose to do this as this is actually not worth the risk at all.

Day 1

The whole first day I rued the decision not to take the bus. The boat was smaller than I thought – fifteen people had to sit on the floor – we were lucky because we could sit on the wooden benches. Our mood to just enjoy some drinks and banter with people on the boat had left us. We spent all day just reading books.

This is the plank by which we entered the boat (while carrying one rucksack and one backpack), people who know me would be surprised at this incredible feat. I have virtually no balance.

It has to be said that even though our situation was not perfect, it’s a fantastic experience to drift along the little villages on the Mekong. The slow boat also functions as transportation between villages so every now and then we stopped to take people on board and/or to take items on board which should be dropped off at the next location. The surroundings of the Mekong river are beautiful.

Night at Pak Beng

At 6pm we reached Pak Beng, a small town on the Mekong River, which would be our home for the night. The little town is essentially full of restaurants and hostels and that’s it. We found a lovely restaurant with two other girls we met on the boat and we tried our first shot of Lao Whiskey. At 10pm exactly, all the electricity in the town switches off, so this meant no fans either. It was a dark and sweaty night in Pak Beng but it was a great experience.

Day 2

On the second day the boat trip actually went by too fast. The seats were much more comfortable and the boat wasn’t as full. We met a lot of great people on the boat with whom we played card games. It seemed that everyone was in a bad mood the day before because what seemed like a boring ride now was a lot of fun. We were sad when we arrived in Luang Prabang. This sadness would change of course when I found out how great this town is. I will tell you all about that in the next post.

Conclusion

One last word of advice is to definitely take the slow boat to Laos. I met some people who took the bus and they were not impressed. I think the boat is a great experience and it’s an incredible way to see how people are living along the Mekong river. It’s also a great way to meet new friends who will come in handy when you explore Laos.