Firstly, there are several ways to travel between Thailand and Laos but the slow boat is by far the most popular. After hearing a lot about it we decided we would opt for the slow boat over a bus. For those of you who don’t know, the slow boat takes you from Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang over a 2 day scenic journey down the Mekong River.
We booked the slow boat through our hostel in Chiang Rai (we stayed at Bike and Bed Poshtel) which cost 1650 Thai Baht per person (approx. £37). We suggest booking a few days in advance because it can get booked up quite quickly.
On the day we were supposed to leave Chiang Rai, we got picked up from our hostel at 5:30am. It was then an hour and a half bus journey to the border. Once the bus dropped us off, we took our luggage and made our way through passport control. No one really told us what to do or where to go but if you follow the crowd you gradually mange to figure it out. After passport control, you make your way to the back of the immigration office where you have to fill out the Laos Arrival card and pay for your visa. The visa into Laos costs $40 or 1800 Thai Baht and you can pay on the day when you fill out the Arrival card. However, I recommend trying to change your Thai Baht to US dollars before leaving Thailand if you can because 1800B usually works out to be around $50 so you actually end up paying more if you pay in Thai Baht. Once you have filled out your Arrivals card, payed for your visa and got your passport stamped you are free to go through and hop onto one of the trailers which drop you down to the river.
The trailers drop you next to a couple of small shops by the river where you can collect your free sandwich for the journey. This is also the last opportunity you get to buy snacks and drinks before getting onto the boat. You can also buy a SIM Card here – I think we paid roughly 200 Thai Baht for it and it worked fine for us whilst we were in Laos. We hung around at the snack shop for a bit until eventually they let us get onto the boat. The boat itself was a lot bigger than I expected and was strangely filled with bus seats.
I was surprised at how quickly everyone got comfortable and how soon the beers started flowing. The weather had brightened up for us and the scenery along the Mekong was stunning. There is no internet whilst you are on the river so make sure to bring cards or downloads some films/games. I failed to prepare any sort of entertainment and since I only had Solitaire and ‘Cut the Rope’ downloaded on my phone, I ended up alternating between these for hours on end. After a long 6 hours, we reached Pak Beng, a small village just over the Laos border. We booked accommodation in advance online and we suggest that you do the same as you are likely to find some good deals. However, if you don’t manage to book in advance, there are plenty of people trying to sell you accommodation as soon as you get off the boat in Pak Beng so you should be able to find something. Most guest houses will also offer to make you a sandwich to take on the boat the next day for a small price.
The next morning the slow boat left at 9am but a lot of the locals also get on at Pak Beng so we suggest getting there between 8 – 8:30am to secure a seat. Before you get on, make sure you pick up some breakfast – there are some amazing pastry shops in Pak Beng! On the second day we spent a long 8 hours on the boat. However, it was definitely one of the nicer travel journeys we’ve had and the scenery was incredible. Once we arrived in Luang Prabang, we paid 40,000 Laos Kip for a tuk tuk to take us to the city centre. The slow boat terminal is about 8km from the Night Market so I don’t recommend walking!
Overall, the slow boat was definitely a travel experience I would recommend to anyone. The scenery is beautiful and we really enjoyed staying amongst the locals in the small village of Pak Beng.