Slow boat to Laos
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2006
1
4
65
Trip End
Ongoing
Luang Prabang,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
This entry covers or journey from Chang Mai to Luang Prabang.
We left our guest house and got pickup up in a mini bus which wasn't too bad and was reasonably comfortable for the 5hr journey. We were sharing with a van full of Ozzy's and a Canadian who was a bit of a wally. After the 5hrs we arrived at a guest house at the border which was all included as part of the package. This place was awful, the rooms resembled that of a prison cell but it was only for a night so no biggy. We got talking to the Australians (3 girls and a couple) who were all really nice and it was decided that beer should be drunk to celebrate our epic voyage. An early start was not ideal but absolutely necessary as a long day of travel lay ahead + we were still waiting for our passports and visas
Beer Lao
! We made a short a boat trip across the Mekong river to immigration, that was all fine and didn't take too long. After that we had to wait for a connection to the boat by Tuk Tuk (Laos style) and because we were one of the last through immigration we were one of the last onto the boat, bugger! Now to say this boat looked uncomfortable is an understatement to say the least. Not only did it have wooden benches, they filled the vessel to capacity then put an extra 50 people on! As we walked passed all the full seats we then entered the engine room with totally unprotected whirling turbines and heavy fumes, lovely! As this area was also full we ended up right at the back of the boat where the staff cook their meals and piss off the back! We were sharing our new found home this time with two crazy hash smoking adventurists who were trying to hitch hike and a Frenchman his girl friend. In hindsight this ended up to be a really enjoyable journey although long, dirty and uncomfortable but with beer as good as beer Laos what's not to like. We turned this back area into a compartment worthy of business class, all we needed to do was draw a curtain across and bobs your uncle. We had a little table for playing cards and being able to hang off the back of the boat and admire the scenery was truly inspiring, we even tried a spot of fishing! We traveled for around 7 hours (which was enough) and arrived at Pak Beng a mercenary stop off town in the pitch black. After frantically searching for my bag in the dark until every body was off the boat it started to become clear that my bag was not here
Business Class
! Must admit slight variations of blue language were used. After coming to terms with the loss of my bag Carla and I walked ashore and then further up the bank where there stood a cheeky kid standing with my bag demanding cash to carry it to our guest house. I was just relived to have it back although I certainly did not let the fella carry my bag one step further. The guest house seemed ok until we went to bed and were kept up all night with various noises. Up at 7am, cold shower and down to the boat for stage 3, another 7hr boat journey. Again we were quite late getting on the boat but to our surprise the Australian couple we had met on the bus had saved us 2 of the best seat on there, happy days. Stage three passed quite quickly. More scenery dispersed with conversations with fellow travelers and more beer Lao (this beer is truly the finest in Asia).
Then we arrived Luang Prabang
Elliot and Carla
