The really slow boat to Laos

So it was time to get the slow boat up to Laos. I was picked up early by a mini van and for some reason I’ve been having the tendency to be the last one to be collected. This was no exception and I had to sit in the front with the driver and his girlfriend. I didn’t complain though since the bus was packed and with a barely working AC it was way more comfortable in the front with the windows down. After leaving Chiang Mai we headed up for Chiang Khong and got the there five hours later.

Apparently we were spending the night there as well and we were whisked of to a hotel that if it had been any more basic they would have given us a blanket and asked us to sleep in the middle of the road. A lot of people complained about bed bugs but I slept fine (or it could have been that I stank after sweating in that bus for so long that they didn’t want to taste that pale Swedish flesh).

Woke up and jumped into another truck that took us to Laos immigration office and since I already had sorted out my thirty day visa in Bangkok I was whisked trough.

Finally got over to the Laos side and was eventually taken to the boat which appeared full. I was mistaken, there’s no such thing as a full slow boat and people were sitting wherever there was a bit of space. I managed to find a seat on of the benches (one of the lucky ones) and was amazed to see another group coming on as well.

An hour later we set off and were floating down the river. It would take two days with a stop over in Pak Beng for the night and then we were off.

The scenery was just stunning. Everywhere around us was jungle and the crept down to the water and it was amazing to see these fishermen throwing out their nets and pull them up with all sorts of things.

The mood got even better when the boat crew came around with beers, even though they were a lot of Thai bath for each it was worth it. Spoke to a nice New Zeeland couple who had a ski resort in the middle of the north island close to three volcanos. They said they would give me price if I came around. Still four months away but I might give it a shot. After another eight hours we docked at Pak Beng.