We were dropped off at the Thailand border and the process of exiting went smoothly and then we proceeded to the Laos side which I was dreading because of all the reports I had read online.
However, it wasn't too bad...we passed in our passports with our visa applications completed and then moved to another window to wait for our name to be called and then went to the wicket to pay our visa fee which for Canadians was 42US dollars, one of the most expensive ones as the US citizens only paid 30US. Though there was no order to this process so it meant one person could wait two minutes or an hour to get their passport back, it took us about a half hour and then we were across the Mekong River and into Laos...
We were in a tuk tuk that instead of taking us straight to the boat stopped at a little place on the side of the road where a Lao man, speaking perfect English with a clipboard started to give us a speech about how we were so welcomed to his country and so on. He then proceeded to say that we needed to buy food and drink here as there was none on the boat..NOT! You must tell me the name of your guesthouse at the next stop so I will call them to pick you up. LIE! At your stopover on the river that night there will be no places to stay so you must book here. LIE!
And unfortunately some of the travellers believed him, gave him their money and when they arrived that night no place to stay! Even though I had read about this happening it was still quite a shock to see this man standing up in front of this crowd and deliberating trying to cheat us out of our money. Not a great welcome to Laos!
So after that scam we all piled back in the tuk tuks and off to the river and our boat...
Unloading our bags...
Which boat is ours?
Luckily the boat was only half full so we got a seat in the middle as in the back it was hot and loud. The seats were taken from mini vans, not bolted to the floor, the two seaters up front and the three seaters in the back. Every seat and more were taken...
We were on the river a little over 5 hours the first day and it went by quickly with the beautiful scenery outside and new friends to be made. We were sitting next to a lovely Scottish couple travelling around the world with their 4 year old daughter and a young British couple doing the same thing.
Leaving port...
The river was quite peaceful at the beginning...
Lots of little villages along the way...
Besides the tourists there were locals who got dropped off on the side of the river...
Sometimes we would have to go very close to shore...
The river is quite rocky as well as sandy in places...
As the sun was starting to set on the river we started to pull into the town where we would spend the night...
Basically we just pulled in to a floating dock and the chaos of everyone trying to get their bags started...
We then had to drag our bags up the steps and up the hill into town and were glad to find our room waiting for us.
The town had one street with two restaurants so we shared a meal at the Indian restaurant with our new Scottish friends and it was quite good. We had a decent night sleep and woke up to see the bakery across from us getting ready for the day...
So fresh bread and hot tea for breakfast!!!
Our boats tied up for the night...
We were also up early enough to see the monks out getting their alms, this is where the locals give them food and money every morning...
After they receive them they stop and pray with the people...
Since we wanted a good seat for the rest of the trip we went down to the boat early...
A few scragglers as there was a Happy Bar in town where a lot of the young people spent the night...
Enjoying a smoke and a laugh before we departed...
This day we were on a different boat for seven hours which was more comfortable and the scenery more stunning as we went down the river towards our next stop, Luang Prang.
The Mekong River meaning " mother of water" runs from China down through most of SE Asia and empties in Vietnam. It is the 12 longest river in the world at 4350 Kms and a beautiful way to move from Thailand to Laos...
Some sights from our second day...
Many people would pull up in their boats to pick up supplies...
It is a very peaceful river in most places...
And in other places we went through some strong Rapids...
Passed some large caves...
Saw the sun begin to set another day...
And then we were there! But half the passengers wouldn't get off because they believed the final stop should be right into town and not 10 Kms outside. We decided not to take part in the sit in and proceed up a really steep hill and into our tuk tuk for the ride into Luang Prabang.
These two days were one of the highlights of our trip so far, to be able to sail down this beautiful, peaceful river was truly an experience, especially after being concerned about the condition of the boat, where we going to stay, where we were going to eat it all turned our to be much better than expected!
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