1st / 2nd December 2023
To leave Thailand for Laos we were picked up by our tour company, Nagi of Mekong, and taken to the Friendship Bridge, aka the border, where we went through the formalities of leaving Thailand (make sure you get your exit visa stamped or they won’t let you into Laos), took a short bus trip to the Laos customs and passport post and then went through the five stage process of getting into Laos, slightly delayed by one of the border guards wandering off to have a fag and a chat on the phone. Once through we were sheparded onto another bus and whizzed into Laos to our boat.
We’d chosen to take a private boat down the Mekong for some extra comfort but also the impression given by a lot of blogs is that the movement between Thailand and Laos is itself a difficult process. It’s not. Chiang Kong, in Thailand, and Houay Xaio, over the border in Laos, are lovely towns to overnight in and with no rushing or pressure the border control is easy (albeit slow) to navigate. I think if I was catching a boat on my own I’d cross the border in the evening and catch the boat in the morning, due to the slowness at the border control.
Eventually we chugged off in the boat, lots of room, a big mix of people, age ranges from 20 to 84, and nationalities, although mainly European. The Mekong is wide and there’s not a huge amount of traffic other than locals pottering about, doing whatever they need to. Although some people managed to maintain enthusiasm for taking photos of beautiful riverside scenery for the whole two days I got bored after two hours, found a couch and crashed out.
The private tour includes food and drink, which is a benefit you don’t get on the public boat, but you are paying a lot more for this, so anyone on a budget probably wants to opt for the latter. The food was great though, the cook appearing from the back of the boat with enough food for thirty people, with some left over. In the olden days the boat down the Mekong was one of the few ways of reaching our final destination, Luang Prabang, but now you can fly if you want. But the boat is a very relaxing way of making the journey.
Day 1 included a visit to a local school, with a quick tutorial on the struggles the locals have to make a living and educate their children. La, our guide for the trip, explained that for the most part kids will leave school once they’ve finished primary level because schools for older children are two hours away, assuming you can afford the transport. Unsurprisingly where you’re born determines your destiny – you don’t have much chance to get out and make something for yourself – and the opportunities to do something different to your parents that do exist aren’t very nice – crime and prostitution.
The school we stop at is in a very rural area, and the kids are playing football – so the children from the boat join in, take over and then are told off by their parents … but it’s all very good natured. The classrooms are basic, the facilities more so and most of the children are off sick due to colds, we’re told, as the temperature has been changing rapidly over the last few weeks.
The day ended at Pak Bang, half way to our final destination. All the slow boats in both directions moor up here at the end of the day, so a lot of people arrive. Unfortunately there was a massive rainstorm just after we arrived at our accommodation and we ended up stuck there as the roads turned into mud slides. The views were great though.
You sometimes see elephants on the opposite bank in the morning from the local elephant sanctuary. Laos is not advanced in this regard as Thailand, evidenced by the only elephant that we did see later in the day being a working one and ridden, however it is beginning to catch up. With no elephants keen to be photographed we all jumped back on our boat and floated off. Lots more gentle pottering, another nice lunch and then a couple of standard afternoon stops. Firstly a local village for a retail opportunity – local whisky complete with snakes and scorpions, and lots of local weaving. Nikki gave a small child two dollars in return for a small flower and a smile, I bought a scarf for my mum and we left the village alone until the next boatload of tourists arrived.
The second day is, if anything, even more relaxed that the first day. Everyone has travelled different routes to get here – some people have been to Japan, others intend going to New Zealand, most have been travelling for a while. The two couples with young children spend a lot of time entertaining them, but the kids are remarkably well behaved considering how long they’re on the boat. The whole thing is very good natured, the boat a constant hum of conversations, interrupted by people going to buy beer.
Our second stop of the day was at Pak Ou caves, where there are a lot – and I mean a lot – of buddhas. Many of these were hidden here during the war in order to keep them safe, and the government added yet more later. It’s very much a tourist trap though – there were hundreds of people and lots of boats, it’s only just up the river from Luang Prabang, so we’re close to the end here.
Before we get to Luang Prabang, though, the final leg of our journey takes us past a massive construction site – the government is building a dam, which will block the journey down the Mekong. The dam will give Laos a huge hydro-electric capability, making it the battery of SE Asia, but lots of homes, habitat and jobs will be lost or relocated. Hopefully this will be replaced by something else, as we saw at a Koh Sok. It’s Laos’ third dam on the Mekong, and there are lots of concerns about how this will impact thhe habitat and lives of the people who live along it.
However, if you want to do the full slow boat to Luang Prabang you’ll need to do it soon, the dam is expected to be operational by 2026.
Finally we pulled into the dock in Luang Prabang where the tour company had arranged mini6-buses to take everyone to their hotels. Our two day trip ended in a short bus tour of the city which, at first glance, looks absolutely beautiful. Over to Nikki for that one …
– Tim