Huay Xai & Pakbeng:

February 4th, 2005 - February 6th, 2005

Greetings from Laos - the third country on our trip.

We entered Laos on the 4th of February early in the morning at the border between Chiang Khong, Thailand and Huay Xai, Laos. The process was rather simple. We stood in line and got our Thailand exit stamp. We walked down a hill to the Mekong River and took a small boat to the other side. We stood in line at what looked like a small bank exchange counter and had your Laos Visa validated and then continued up the hill to where we sat in the back of a shared taxi and waited for it to be full. From there we were taken to the "Slow Boat Pier" and we boarded our boat.

Some people have asked, "What is the slow boat?" ... no, it is not a boat driven by someone we met in India... it is like a small river ferry that seats 50 people, but they jam 70 people onto it. It has one tiny hole in the back as a toilet and doesn't server food. The trip down the Mekong to the wonderful city of Luang Prabang takes 2 days with an overnight stop in a tiny town called Pakbeng.

You might be asking, "Why take the slow boat?" ... well, the other option is the Fast Boat (naturally) and it takes 6 people and is a mini-speed boat with a long tail outboard engine on the back that is loud enough to make you go deaf. Not to mention that these boats flip so often that all the passengers wear crash helmets and life jackets. You can make the trip in 6 hours... or you might not make the trip at all if it hits some debris floating in the Mekong. These boats are rumored to crash at a rate of 1 per week!

So, us and 70-some-odd travelers piled onto the slow boat for the "scenic" cruise down the river which was about 8 hours of boating each day. As much as people have made about the scenery of the trip, I hate to say it, but I have seen much nicer, especially in Canada.

We stopped halfway in a town called Pakbeng which only exists for the boats to stop overnight. There is a shortage of accommodation and there was a mad dash off the boat to get rooms. Having read other travelers stories, I ran to find a room and Jess waited to get the bags off the boat. That allowed us to get a decent room. Decent is actually excellent since most rooms in the town of rats and we have heard some horror stories. Luckily for us, we were not visited by rats during the night, unlike some others on our boat.

The other interesting thing is that the electricity for the town is only from about 6pm to 11pm. After that, there is no power unless places have generators - but those were scarce.

We were up early the next morning to make sure we got good seats on the boat - we managed to even get a cushion to help make the 8 hour journey easier. They crammed this boat worse than the day before but this time we sat with two Americans - Rick (Alaska) and Kim (California) and played a few games of Yatzee to help pass the time.

All-in-all, I would have to say the slow boat was a negative experience. We were crammed into the boat with little room and comfort. The scenery was not as nice as advertised and the two day journey really eats into a trip.

The final hour of our boat trip was marred by a thunderstorm. Only the second time we have seen rain on our trip. It was pretty cool to watch a torrential downpour hitting the Mekong. The rain held up briefly as we pulled into the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang. Like in Pakbeng, I jumped off the boat and tried to find a place to stay while Jess waited for the bags. As soon as I was off the boat the rain came down in buckets. I was soaked as I ran up the muddy hill to find a Tuk-Tuk.

I hired a whole Tuk-Tuk outright to drive me around to find a place. The three-wheeler had tons of trouble in the rain but we made it to the first guest house... FULL! We went to the second guest house... FULL! But this guy told me where I could find a room. Luckily the third time was a charm and I got us a decent room. Then it was back to the boat pier where the rain had caused a flash flood on the hill to the boat. I found Jess along with Rick & Kim and two others and we took our bags in the pouring rain back up to our Tuk-Tuk who was waiting.

I told the others that there were rooms at our place and they came with us. We were the lucky ones because hours later others from our boat were still canvassing the town for rooms!

Luang Prabang is a small town of about 20,000 people and you can cover it on foot. It is so relaxing and the opposite of anywhere else we have been in that regard. The people are warm and laid back and very friendly. We ventured out to the night market before eating last night. The food was some of the best we have had on the trip - and the prices very cheap.

Which leads to a strange phenomenon - they use 3 currencies here: Thai Bhat, Lao Kip, and US Dollar. I find we are trying to convert all the time. Because there are no bank machines here, cash is all that is pretty much used.

The other great thing about Laos is the beer. They have Beer Lao which is their local beer and has been called the "Best of South East Asia" ... I agree with that. It comes in 650ml bottles and costs about $0.90 US.

Also of interest, marijuana is sold as a cooking spice in the markets here so people are always offering drugs. I was offered about 10 times in Pakbeng and then this morning some funny lady in a fluorescent green outfit tried to sell them as well!

NEXT ENTRY