Slow Boat to Luang Prabang, Laos

Written 6th December 2012

The next morning

we caught a slow boat to Luang Prabang. In asia you have to get to your transportation really early if you want a seat. We had breakfast (Steve had a Loas Breackfast)

and got them to make us a sandwich for the trip (we were told we would stop for food but it turns out we were right to not believe this). We got down to the boat place at 10am (for the 11am ferry) and only just managed to get a forward facing seat! We were right at the front which sounds good until you add in that we were on wooden seats as opposed to old bus or car seats and had no roof over us so were in the hot sun. Also the seats were on a false floor so we had our knees up higher than everyone else. It was better than the back though where everyone else had to sit on sideways benches. One Spanish lady was having a real tanty about having to sit back there but she did only come to get on the boat just before 11 and we had all already been sitting on the boat since 10.

This duck was disgruntled that someone dropped that can on the river bank.

Finally she got on the boat (the Spanish lady, not the duck) and we were able to set off.

I was SO hot when we were waiting to leave. I had rigged up my sarong as a make-shift sun shade which was some relief but when we started going the breese from the movement was lovely.

The river trip was quite enjoyable.

There were little villages all along the river where naked children were swimming and would all wave at us as we went by.

We saw water buffalo wallowing in the mud and having a jolly good time.

The mountains rose up draped in their fine green things all around us.

The river had a lot more rapids than we expected and the boat driver actually had to be quite skilled to keep us in the right spots in the river. We got wet a few times sitting in the front. At one point it was too difficult to maneuver the boat with us all in it so we had to get out and walk about 10 minutes along the river back (this was a good time to go to the toilet). We even saw some locals foraging for food while we were walking.

 We stopped shortly after this "to go to the toilet" but actually for the boar driver to visit his friend!

Those are our seat there at the front.

While we were there the grumpy spanish lady was getting someone to take a photo of her in the boat. She was bossily telling them how to do it and then smiled sweetly at the camera which I thought was funny! While this was happening I realised that the boat had drifted away from the river bank and was nearly too far to reach. (It had lifted off the sand when most people had got out.) So I ran down and grabbed the boat before it could get any farther!

We all hopped back on board and were on our way once again. We were all glad to arrive in Luang Prabang. It was a long trip (either 5 or 6 hours) and they had said an hour less (when traveling in Laos always add one to five hours to every travel time your are given).

Luang Prabang is a very nice town. It is on a point where the Mekong River (the main big river in Laos) and the Nam Khan River meet. It is a town full of French influence from when Laos was a colony of France. We wandered around sweating like crazy trying to find a nice guest house and found one after only a few visits. In asia ALWAYS look at your room before agreeing to stay there. (Actually that goes for everywhere but I think especially in Asia).

So another day spent traveling but at least it was scenic!