Taking the infamous “slowboat” from Thailand to Laos
As soon as I landed in Bangkok I started hearing stories about a crazy 2 day boat trip which could take you from Chiang Rai in Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos. Some backpackers said it would be the worst journey I took in Asia and others said it would be one of the best things I did on my trip. I really didn’t know what to believe but I did know that I had to make the journey myself and find out.
The journey is made up of 3 main parts: a bus to Chiang Khong at the Thai/Laos border, a boat trip from the border to Pakbeng in Laos where you stay overnight and finally another boat journey from Pakbeng to Luang Prabang.
Day 1 – Chiang Rai to Pakbeng (via Chiang Khong)
I started the journey from my hostel (Mercy Hostel) in Chiang Rai. Great hostel I would definitely recommend – lots of other backpackers stay here before taking the slow boat to Laos. The hostel had a daily transfer that included everything (Bus to the Thai/Laos border, slow boat ticket, lunch etc). If you prefer it is possible to take the local bus and arrange your boat ticket yourself, the hostel staff were great at providing advice on how to do this. The bus left early in the morning around 5am and took around 3 hours. When we got Chiang Khong there was quite a lot of waiting around (something you will get very used to travelling south east Asia) and we had to fill out some forms and pay a fee for the visa (~$40) in cash, this could be be paid in Lao Kip or USD). There was an ATM available and I was able to withdraw Lao currency using my international bank card without an issue.
We made it onto the boat just before 10am. Everyone’s luggage was stored under the floor of the boat. It was a pretty small boat for the number of people on it. The seats were old car seats that had been stripped out and were fairly comfortable but if you need to you can get up whenever to stretch your legs. I would say there was around a 70/30 split backpackers/tourists to locals. There was a small shop/bar at the back of the boat and couple of very basic toilets on board.
I had a great time on the boat and spent most of the two days drinking beers, playing card games and having great conversations with other passengers. I knew a couple people I had met at the hostel the few days prior to leaving, but by the end of the two days I think I had spoken to most of the people on board and made a couple of great friends. Every time the shop ran out of beers the boat would pull up on the shore and they would load on a few more crates.
Getting off the boat at the end of the first day there were lots of small children asking for money from all of the tourists getting off the boat. There were Songthaew’s waiting to transfer us to our accommodation for the night.
Overnight stop in Pakbeng and booking accommodation
After around 8 hours the boat arrived in Pakbeng for an overnight stop. I recommend booking your accommodation ahead of time for peace of mind as it was quite busy and not sure you would be able to get a bed if you didn’t book ahead. It was easy and cheap to book somewhere on booking.com. I stayed in a shared dorm room and I found most of the people in my room were also travelling on the boat with me that day.
Day 2 – Pakbeng to Luang Prabang
We set off at around 9am and the boat was a little less lively on the second day as quite a lot of the backpackers had been up late drinking in Pakbeng and were feeling a little worse for wear. We were on the boat for about 9 hours on the second day and so there was plenty of time to play some games, listen to music, read a book or watch a film.
We arrived into Luang Prabang just as the sun was setting and the views and surrounding hills were great – I definitely recommend taking some time to take in your surroundings.
