Slowboat to Loas

Pakbeng and Luang Prabang, Laos

Chiang Rai was our last stop in Thailandand the place to organise transport across to Laos. We opted to take the 2 day slow boat into Laos, the other option being a 7 hour speed boat renowned for sending many travellers to their deaths – no thanks.

The slow boat journey made a nice change from the cramped, uncomfortable bus journeys that we were used to. It was peaceful, relaxing and incredibly scenic; we floated down the giant Mekong River, passing huge mountains, quaint villages and dense woodland, seeing villagers washing in the river, children waving and an array of animals grazing at the river bank.

We spent the first night in a tiny town called Pakbeng and, along with several others we met on the boat, went for a swim in the famous river.

We arrived in Luang Prabang the following day. It’s a small city filled with bicycles, restaurants and bakeries - we could immediately see the past French influence here. We joined our new boat friends for a drink and somehow found ourselves going along to an after party at a bowling alley! Not knowing what to expect we were kind of surprised to discover that it was exactly that, a bowling alley… so we bowled the night away.

For us, the most impressive trip in Luang Prabang was to the waterfall. Having seen many waterfalls by this point we thought we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. But we were proved wrong when we arrived at the most stunning waterfall we had ever seen! Cascades of crystal clear water falling to create numerous blue pools below, perfect for swimming, we were blown away!