I didn’t think I’d get the chance to do this journey, one listed as a must, as people had been going on about it not being possible as the water was too low, blah, blah, blah. Don’t listen to them, get yourself to one of the starting points and see if the boats are going. They normally are, even if it's the very dry season, which it was when I was there.
So how to do it?
Buy your ticket at the boat docks, not at an office in town. I was going from Luang Prabang (LP) to the Thai border and visited many offices and thought I’d got the best price, ha! I paid 250 000 kip for a ticket all the way from LP to Thailand, but if you buy your ticket in LP to Pak Beng (PB) it’s 100 000 kip then PB to Huay Xai (HX) it’s another 100 000 kip and you can buy your tickets on the boat.
The first boat - you change in PB - tends to have hard seats, so either see if you can reserve the soft seats (costs you extra) or wait until you’re on the boat and nab a comfy seat once it’s moving. Also take food with you, you can buy food on the boat, pot noodles Laos style, crisps etc, but your own food will probably be better. Plus drink, you can buy water, beer and probably other stuff on board, but I had my own water, so all was well. Another essential is ear plugs or a mp3 player, the engine can be noisy and the more comfy seats are closer to the engine.
However nice the view is, it can get a bit tedious, so other things to occupy yourself are a good idea, books, suduko, whatever turns you on, you know when there’s something interesting to look at, as people will start moving to one side of the boat to take photos. Oh and toilet paper, but if you’ve been travelling for a while, you already have this as part of your essential kit.
Be prepared to walk the gang plank with a back pack on and the plank bending a lot and you feel sure you’re going to fall in. I refused the second time to walk the plank and headed to the front of the boat, where fortunately I could just step ashore. That plank was dodgy and I was certain I wouldn’t have made it, had I not been grabbed by a deck hand. Flips flops didn’t help, sturdy sandals would also be useful when clambering over the rocks.
Don’t let people in PB take your belongings, trying to be helpful, even when you see the steep steps you have to walk up into the town. Bags have been known to go missing when the ‘helpful’ locals lend a hand.
At PB rooms cost, on the budget side, about 30 - 40 000 kip and vary in quality for that price, so shop around. Most guesthouses will offer to make you sandwiches for your next day on the river, but there is a nice bakery on the main street where they do breakfasts and take aways, plus muffins and bagels. How to get to make friends with a fellow boat traveller: don’t rob the last bagel in the shop, I didn’t and he didn’t take the last muffin either!
The boats leave PB at 8.30 and you should be on board by 8am, better chance of a good seat, though it’s a different boat, the seats in general were more comfy, which also seemed to be for the falang (foreigners). The boats arrive in HX at 5.30 and it’s a bit of a walk to the main street, you’re also too late for crossing into Thailand that night. So a night in HX has to happen and the guest houses know this and are priced accordingly, even the budget places. It was the most expensive place I’d stayed in Laos, 40 000 kip for a single room - a single bed and shared bathroom, nice?!
I tried to arrange transport from HX, including the ferry ride across the river to Chiang Mai, but the mini bus was full and there was only one mini bus, so anyone not booked on that had to find some other way. So we decided to get up early in the morning and just see what happened.
We crossed the Laos border and boarded the ferry to Thailand for 10 000 kip. Five minutes later we were in Thailand, getting our passports stamped and being helped by a friendly monk into a tuk tuk and to the bus stop for Chiang Mai. The monk ensured we got the right tickets, well he spoke to the guys I was travelling with at the point, or through them, when he wanted to talk to me, all very bizarre. But he ensured we were going to the right place, with the right tickets and as he was on the same bus, made sure we were OK for the whole trip. We even got free water, snacks and it was cheaper and quicker than the mini bus!
So don’t use the agents and do it yourself, cheaper, quicker and no trouble either…
So how to do it?Buy your ticket at the boat docks, not at an office in town. I was going from Luang Prabang (LP) to the Thai border and visited many offices and thought I’d got the best price, ha! I paid 250 000 kip for a ticket all the way from LP to Thailand, but if you buy your ticket in LP to Pak Beng (PB) it’s 100 000 kip then PB to Huay Xai (HX) it’s another 100 000 kip and you can buy your tickets on the boat.
The first boat - you change in PB - tends to have hard seats, so either see if you can reserve the soft seats (costs you extra) or wait until you’re on the boat and nab a comfy seat once it’s moving. Also take food with you, you can buy food on the boat, pot noodles Laos style, crisps etc, but your own food will probably be better. Plus drink, you can buy water, beer and probably other stuff on board, but I had my own water, so all was well. Another essential is ear plugs or a mp3 player, the engine can be noisy and the more comfy seats are closer to the engine.However nice the view is, it can get a bit tedious, so other things to occupy yourself are a good idea, books, suduko, whatever turns you on, you know when there’s something interesting to look at, as people will start moving to one side of the boat to take photos. Oh and toilet paper, but if you’ve been travelling for a while, you already have this as part of your essential kit.
Be prepared to walk the gang plank with a back pack on and the plank bending a lot and you feel sure you’re going to fall in. I refused the second time to walk the plank and headed to the front of the boat, where fortunately I could just step ashore. That plank was dodgy and I was certain I wouldn’t have made it, had I not been grabbed by a deck hand. Flips flops didn’t help, sturdy sandals would also be useful when clambering over the rocks.
Don’t let people in PB take your belongings, trying to be helpful, even when you see the steep steps you have to walk up into the town. Bags have been known to go missing when the ‘helpful’ locals lend a hand.At PB rooms cost, on the budget side, about 30 - 40 000 kip and vary in quality for that price, so shop around. Most guesthouses will offer to make you sandwiches for your next day on the river, but there is a nice bakery on the main street where they do breakfasts and take aways, plus muffins and bagels. How to get to make friends with a fellow boat traveller: don’t rob the last bagel in the shop, I didn’t and he didn’t take the last muffin either!
The boats leave PB at 8.30 and you should be on board by 8am, better chance of a good seat, though it’s a different boat, the seats in general were more comfy, which also seemed to be for the falang (foreigners). The boats arrive in HX at 5.30 and it’s a bit of a walk to the main street, you’re also too late for crossing into Thailand that night. So a night in HX has to happen and the guest houses know this and are priced accordingly, even the budget places. It was the most expensive place I’d stayed in Laos, 40 000 kip for a single room - a single bed and shared bathroom, nice?!I tried to arrange transport from HX, including the ferry ride across the river to Chiang Mai, but the mini bus was full and there was only one mini bus, so anyone not booked on that had to find some other way. So we decided to get up early in the morning and just see what happened.
We crossed the Laos border and boarded the ferry to Thailand for 10 000 kip. Five minutes later we were in Thailand, getting our passports stamped and being helped by a friendly monk into a tuk tuk and to the bus stop for Chiang Mai. The monk ensured we got the right tickets, well he spoke to the guys I was travelling with at the point, or through them, when he wanted to talk to me, all very bizarre. But he ensured we were going to the right place, with the right tickets and as he was on the same bus, made sure we were OK for the whole trip. We even got free water, snacks and it was cheaper and quicker than the mini bus!So don’t use the agents and do it yourself, cheaper, quicker and no trouble either…
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