Rearranging the deckchairs on the Mekong ferry

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We rose relatively early to get some breakfast, Laos currency and buy some lunch for the boat. The guest house owner had booked seats for us and arranged for a tuk-tuk to pick us up and take us down to the dock. After another bit of faffing around with passports to get actual paper tickets we walked down to a nearly empty boat where we found we had to wait for an hour. It was quite a cramped affair with many rows of narrow pew-like wooden seats. And then it began to fill up with crowds of people. The operators eventually allowed people on to one of the boats next to us, but it was still rather crowded by the time it set off at half eleven.

I think we drew the short straw in a number of ways, with an assorted mix of gobby unfunny Aussies, Brits who never should have left their pub, loud Americans, and French people who regularly crowded to the side of the boat to take pictures of bemused locals like they were zoo animals. There was also the anorexic hippy girl with a shaved head and a hairless cat. At first it was known as the devil cat because it was so ugly, and then - after it kept wandering around the boat - ET’s cat because everyone thought it should go home.
And so, for the next 6 hours we meandered down the river, trying to find a comfortable way to sit and pass the time. It was peaceful, but the scenery was not inspiring and I think everyone was glad to get off at Pak Beng, despite the scrum that ensued as people tried to get their rucksacks and crowds of Lao children tried to “help” them carry their bags away up the hill.

We checked in and had dinner before retreating to our noisy hotel to avoid the noisy blokes who had been sitting next to us on the boat and who somehow found a similar position in the restaurant we’d picked. Unfortunately there were some equally noisy people occupying the bar opposite where we were staying so earplugs were required to get to sleep.

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Photos

Pick a boat
We took one of the boats in the middle.

Serene theory
This is what sailing down the Mekong should be like...

Practical reality
...and this is what it was actually like - note the wooden pew that served as seats for 8 hours