The Slow Boat

The Slow Boat to Luang Prabang

Jan 2024

Slow Boats at the River Bank 

In the morning, we went to the river banks to catch the slow boat. There was a huge crowd of tourists waiting to get in and we were guided to one of the boats where we unloaded our luggage. All luggage was stashed at the bottom of the boat by removing a few planks. There was no chance of removing anything from the luggage till we arrived at our destination.

Stacking the luggage

There was a rush to get the seats and we were given seats on the rear end of the boat where we had boarded from. Soon the boat was full and after what felt like an eternity, the boat chugged off from the banks. One of the tourists was a young man and had a Ukulele and his neighbor took it and started playing some music. 

Most of the tourists were from Europe and there were also a few Americans. The Ukulele player turned out to be an American and had a chequered career including being a porn star and then a Papirazzi for Hollywood. 

An American in Laos

The journey across the Mekong was slow and the land was mainly forests with hills around us. In many places, we could see small villages with people bathing and boats stopping for transfer of people. While the idea was to have a slow travel and enjoy the scenery, most people were on their phones (a modern diversion). There were some groups chatting away getting to know each other. 

Slow Boat Travellers

Early evening, we docked at the night stop which was a small village called Pakbeng about halfway between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang. I booked into a hotel called BKC Villa and took a stroll across the village in the evening.   

The next day, we were off. The passengers were different this time and I managed to get a better seat in the Center of the boat. In front of me, there was an American girl reading "Shantaram". We soon got talking. She had been to Nepal and loved her stay there. She was looking forward to meeting her dad in Vietnam. He had retired and she was trying to goad him back to travelling like he did in his younger days. 

Beside me there was a French girl who spoke pretty good English. I complemented her English skills and she acknowledged happily saying she has been practicing hard to perfect it. She then got back to her ear phones listening to music.

At the Boat Terminal in Luang Prabang 

After a long day, we got into the final bend of the river near Pak Ou Caves which is famous for having hundreds of wooden miniature Buddhas. Soon we arrived at the Luang Prabang slow boat terminal and docked in.

There were many vehicles parked and all tourists were going to almost same part of town. I got in and soon got dropped off at the city center, a few minutes walk to my hotel.