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Published: February 18th 2011
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Here we are in Laos...I've been living in Asia for nearly 15 years, and nver made it to Laos, so this is a first for our little family.
But much more important, Mari just published the pictures of Tiffany visit to Bangkok. You will need to clik on her page
deleted_148721 to find the story and the pics....that was indeed a fabulous week!
Back to Laos...we crossed the border in Chiang Khong. Easy passport control on the Thai side. From there, you take your longtail, and five minutes later you land on the other side of the Mekong in Laos. And yes, immigration formalities here are pure chaos. One window...actually two...but there is not one line here, there are easily 100 people trying to get at the same time their visa. Depending of nationality, it will basically cost you between 30 to 35 usd for a 30 days tourist visa. What a mess, took us an hour to clear the place with our passports and visas. But at the same time you enter the true joviality of Laos...here time is less of an issue...people smile and take their time....and you learn to take your time too...but hey, it was
10am, and we have no intention to spend 24 hours in Huay Xai, the border town. Our aim was to take the slow boat, taking two days to reach Luang Prabang, and the last boat is supposed to leave around 11am!
Before I start to write about the slow boat experience itself, here is a little guide of how to reach Luang Prabang...
First, why not flying to Luang Prabang...well, from Bangkok, it's minimum 330usd return ticket...woups, that's seriously a lot for sucha short distance. Who is flying to Luang Prabang? Bangkok Air, Lao Aviation and Vietnam Airlines, and sad reality, none of them are cheap. So flying, no way for such a short distance.
Second, you reach Chiang Khong and cross to Huay Xai. From here, few choices...10 hours on a minibus...no way....the speedboat...they put 4 to 8 people on those...you get geared with an helmet and a life jacket...and you play with your own life. In two days, we may have seen 3 boats with foreigners on them, this was it...no way for us, we love to live and travel too much to stop it on a stupid accident. Next, one company is operating a
"luxury" boat for something around 300usd per person...till take two days, but include a better accomodation in Pak Beng and all the food and drinks...300usd would be nice, but we saw the boat...and I really cannot find how to justify such a hefty price tag. Next, why not chartering your own slow boat...why not...2 people or 5 people or even 25..., the will take you for a minimum of 500usd (price quoted in 2007 by Lonely Planet, I'm sure it is at least 700usd today)!
Ok, and if you do go with any of those above, you have the slow boat. 25usd a ticket (half for Leslie)...that it is if you simply buy your ticket at the landing. I google the slow boat to read a lot of not so nice stories....let me tell you it was a very nice experience. You spend two days on the boat, with a stop for the night in Pak Beng on the way. First day is 6 hours on the boat, and second day, 8 hours on the boat.
First rule first when you use any transport in Laos. Transport do normally leave on time, or just few minutes late...but any
mode of transport will be filled to full capacity before departure. So to come back to the slow boat...we purchased our ticket a 10.15am, for the next boat leaving at 11.30am. By 10.30am we were nicely seated in comfortable seats in the boat...by 11am, all comfortable seats were gone, occupied...so learn this...it does pay to arrive way earlier than your schedule time, and simply sit in a good seat. This also valid for minivan or buses...
I did some internet blogging on the slow boat, and it seems to be focused mainly on the hard seats provided. First day, 30 people had to endure those on our slow boat (out of 100 passengers), second day, the slow boat had none. So no need to buy a pillow for your two days, just arrive on time.
These boats were clean, you could buy drinks, beer and basic food, a very nice experience, just make sure you bring a good book. On the first evening, you stop at sunset in Pak Beng for the night. The next boat leave at 9am next morning...just make sure you get on the boat by 8.30am! Don't forget that advise if you want a
proper seat!
Pak beng is just a little village with 2 streets on the bank of the Mekong. You don't pre-book here...we just went from one place to another, and to be honest, there is not much difference between a 10usd or 30usd room a night...just make sure you see few of them, because we found some huge differences between different 10usd rooms a night!
Oh, and if you want to know, you will not meet many locals on your two days trip, but you will meet many backpackers. I've backpacked a reasonnable amount of trips while a student...but we were pretty shocked to see that people keep their distance while you are a family. Leslie was the only child on this trip, and it's also the first time I get called "sir" by people not even 10 years younger than me. I don't specially find this a very cool attitude, but we have experienced this few times in Laos. Being cool is not being laid-back and not caring about your future life...being cool is being able to interact with others, even if they are not your age, and don't share at the moment the same aspirations as
you. (That was my little 5 cents comment).
And the trip you are going to ask me. Well, 14 hours of impressive scenery. Ok, it may be quite repetitive, so just make sure you've got a solid book with you. But woaw, time stops, and you can just enjoy the slow pace of the Mekong...we loved it...and Leslie could even take most of the trip with enjoyment. I have to admit that few times, he found the experience...a little lenghty for his 10 years old!
This is it, we made our way to Luang Prabang, many memories to keep for ages. And what a better way to arrive in Luang Prabang than any other, a very serene arrival indeed...
Next entry on Luang Prabang...but as usual, I'm a little late with the pictures...
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Nataliea
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LUCKY YALL
Hey I am from Georia USA, considering teaching english abroad, WOW is all I can say.I really enjoyed the trip details and the photos....The price was awesome,I feel like you guys are in heaven becasue everything is so beautiful. Thank You for this post I am really considering Asia now. Thanks