somtam2000
admin
mahout
Posts: 2548

Located in:
Indonesia

#1 Posted: 22/1/2008 - 16:28


Hi all,

If you have done the Huay Xai - Pakbeng - Luang Prabang boat trip by slow boat, please post in this thread when you did it and a rough idea of how many people were on the boat with you.

This is to give other readers who are weighing up doing the trip an idea regards to overcrowding on the boat.

As always, my humble thanks!

wellswall
newbie
Posts: 2

#2 Posted: 4/3/2008 - 15:17


Just took the slow boat from Huay Xai, wasn't too bad we had about 75 people on the boat, was a little cramped but not as bad as some of the horror stories that i have heard, and its still a lot better then the fast boat! stayed in Pakbeng, got ripped off on a really bad guesthouse for 300 baht, and food was expensive as well. Next day left from Pakbeng and we had a boat with about 60-70 people on it and was much of the same, I think the key is to get to the boat early and lock up the good seats towards the front. Also make sure you buy a pillow cause the ground is really hard. Wasn't too bad a ride just kinda boring. but i guess the other options are worse.

Iridius
newbie
Posts: 1

#3 Posted: 8/3/2008 - 01:10


Did the trip in November 2007. Don't know how many people where on the boat, but some had to sit on top of the baggage in the back, so it was definitely a lot (one guy said about 100). Being there early is really the best thing you can do.

Anyway, if you are lucky (like me ;)) you meet some nice people and can at least pass the time getting drunk (beer was about 1 dollar a bottle).


As already said, Pakbeng is expensive and you don't get much for your money.



best regards

the_tundraman
longtail driver
Posts: 8

#4 Posted: 18/3/2008 - 18:29


Hello all,

here is a link i found, i think in thorntree i forgot now. The journey is old, though, its do-er did it in december 2005. But there are some very good pictures. Many thanks to the writers.

http://www.evcal.org/HuayXaiToLuangPrabang.html

Here is another link, it talks about some backpackers who were not given tickets by their guesthouse owners who took their money and arranged for their slow boat trip. Not very relevant if you dont'w want to waste time. But is very funny.

http://www.vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTales12.html

I have one question, i hope some will answer it here. I plan to go myself, in april end - may beginning, i will be going through chiang mai - chiang khong - huay xai - luang prabang, and i think i will start my slow boat journey around may 1st week. Can anyone please let me know whether the slow boat still operated round may 1st week? What with it being summer season in the north hemisphere, is the river too low for such river journeys? if it is then i will have to plan a bus journey out of huay xai instead.

Many thanks in advance.

tails101
noodle lady
Posts: 47

#5 Posted: 18/3/2008 - 19:58


Did the journey in October 2004 but the other way round (Luang Prabang -> Huay Xai) and had no overcrowding issues at all... on both legs of the journey the locals outnumbered the tourists, which was great!

Was an interesting experience though... quoting below from an e-mail I sent home at the time..

"We left Luang Prabang Saturday morning at 8.30 'asia time', which was actually more like 9.30am, on the slow boat to Huay Xai via Pakbeng (overnight stop). Each leg of the journey is supposed to take a day... However, after 2 hours our boat broke down - they tried fixing it, but no joy and told us another one was on its way... An hour or so later another one turned up, and we set off again meandering down the Mekong.

We were a bit behind by this point, but sailing down the Mekong was pretty cool, and the scenery was awesome (the boat, less so - wooden bench seats, and not enough cushions for my liking, but all good fun...) - mountain after mountain all covered in green trees...

Time passed and it started to get dark (obviously the boat had no lights - navigation or internal) and we hadn't reached the half way point of Packbang... The crew started to look for somewhere to dock (by torchlight) and successfully found somewhere but it wasn't Pakbeng... It was a very small Laos village which had an outdoor shop, a restaurant with no menu, a guesthouse and electricity by generator. We were made to feel very welcome and had a great meal... The bottle water on sale at the shop was a few years out of date, but very drinkable! When it came to sleeping we opted to sleep on the boat, it was cheaper than the guesthouse and we had to be off again at 5.30am!

So 9 travellers all camped out on this boat with the crew and a group of locals, with candles as our only light and they ran out at 9pm... there wasn't much room and the wooden floor was very hard! But hey, we all did get some sleep... and set off again the next day eventually arriving in Packbang in time to catch the boat for the next leg on the journey.

It may not have gone quite according to plan, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way"

shanghai306
longtail driver
Posts: 6

#6 Posted: 18/3/2008 - 21:41


tails101 - i'm hoping to do the trip the same way you did in a couple of weeks.

my question is: around roughly what time did you arrive in huay xai? was there enough time to cross the thai border on the same day? and once in chiang khong did you have to spend the night or were you able to make an onward journey somewhere else? (i'm hoping to not stop in chiang khong and head straight for bangkok)

any help would be much appreciated!

nic

tails101
noodle lady
Posts: 47

#7 Posted: 19/3/2008 - 04:31


Hi Nic,

We didn't make it to Huay Xai in time to cross the border the same day... We ended up spending one night in Huay Xai and then crossed the border early the next morning. I'd make sure you have enough cash (either in Thai Bhat or Kip) to cope with spending the night in Laos just in case...

According to our crew, some days the boat makes, others it doesn't... To be honest we probably should have made it but the crew stopped off to pick some fish up and then shared some Lao-Lao with us as well as a few stops to drop off locals...

IIRC the border closes somewhere between 5-6... I'm not sure what time the last bus direct to Bangkok leaves, but unless there is an overnight one, I would guess you're out of luck on being able to head straight off.

However, if you miss crossing the border the same day, you should have no problem making it to Bangkok after crossing the border nice and early!

Hope this is of some use...
Cheers,
Mark.

shanghai306
longtail driver
Posts: 6

#8 Posted: 19/3/2008 - 07:00


Hi Mark,

cheers for the quick and informative reply! In that case, we may just spend the night in Huay Xai and then do the border crossing first thing in the morning.

Do you know if there are any buses from Chiang Khong that head straight to Bangkok? Or would I have to go over to Chiang Rai first?


thanks again,
Nic

tails101
noodle lady
Posts: 47

#9 Posted: 20/3/2008 - 04:11


Hi Nic,

I'm pretty sure you can get a bus from Chiang Khong direct to Bangkok... I could find times on the Internet for buses to Chiang Khong from Bangkok so I guess they go the other way too ;)

Have a fantastic trip...

Cheers,
Mark.

shelld
backpacker
Posts: 16

#10 Posted: 1/4/2008 - 14:12


Greetings all

Did the Huay Xai to Luang Prabang slow boat on 06/03/08 and after the initial shock of the amount of passengers, had a brilliant time. Just go with the flow & everything seems to work out. We had no seats & ended up sitting on small plastic stools in the cooking area at the back of the boat. We met many great people from all over the world & actually ended up traveling with some of them for over a week. Sure its slow but the scenery is wonderful & if you buy a cheap cushion before you board, your bum will still be attached at Pakbeng. Really enjoyed Pakbeng as well. The guesthouse was clean, the staff were very cool & accommodating & the food was pretty good. Can't remember the name of the GH but didn't hear any horror stories from fellow travellers, that stayed elsewhere, the following day on the boat to Luang Prabang. Just stay chilled, have a few beerlao & enjoy the whole experience. I highly recommend doing this trip & I'm not a seasoned young backpacker, I'm a 40yo mum. Can't wait to go back next year!

michmich11
backpacker
Posts: 19

#11 Posted: 23/4/2008 - 21:30


Hi,
I will be traveling in June for a little less than 3 weeks. I plan on spending time in Luang Prabang--I'm curious if you all think taking the slow boat would be a good use of 2 of my (too few!) days in the region. I don't mind spending the money to fly either. Thanks for your advice!

Michelle

SBE
tuk tuk driver
Posts: 129

#12 Posted: 24/4/2008 - 05:10


I'd fly. It's not worth two days of your holiday.

I did that boat trip in early November 2004 and our boat was so full it hit a rock and sank about an hour before we should have reached Pak Beng. We had to abandon ship and wade to a sand-spit in the Mekong where we spent a rather a damp and uncomfortable night, though we built fires and the captain salvaged some crates of Beer Lao He only charged 4000Kp for a big bottle which helped raise spirits a bit.

pikkumyy09
newbie
Posts: 4

#13 Posted: 27/4/2008 - 10:26


Hello all,

Did the journey about April 7th or so - from Chiang Mai to LP. I would suggest taking a bus that leaves during the day, (the price usually has accommodation included, the night bus doesn't). Our night bus arrived at approx 3.30 instead of 06.00, so ended up getting a room for 50baht each. Got to Thai immigration for 08.15, and were in Laos by 09.00. After waiting for visas, and everyone else, I think it was about 10.30 when we left. Pick up some water and snacks before getting on board, some boats will sell them, but the first one we were on didn't. I thought the boat was full already, until another group the size of ours showed up! Had a bit of a panic thinking the boat is going to capsize, but it was fine. Definitely get there early so you can have a seat. And buy a cushion! If you're small enough it's pretty comfortable on the floor with some life jackets and a cushion...

Arrived in Pakbeng about 17.00, had already booked our guesthouse (300baht for two), I think it was called Bounmee, it was okay, nothing spectacular, but wasn't horrible either.

Left again the next morning in a nicer boat (with proper seats towards the front and a western toilet), again, make sure you arrive early enough!

It looks much better than the speedboat, they wear helmets, and there isn't a toilet on board! It's a great place to meet people, travelled with a group for the next week, and the scenery is stunning, just make sure you get a cushion!

Happy travels!

K

emielvl
backpacker
Posts: 13

#14 Posted: 30/4/2008 - 01:35


I would like to take the slow boat from huay xai to luang prabang, but only one part of the (2day) trip. Which part is the most beautiful (landscape wise)? Huay xai - pak beng or pak beng - luang prabang?

SBE
tuk tuk driver
Posts: 129

#15 Posted: 30/4/2008 - 14:27


It was a long time ago and to be honest I can't remember very well, but I don't think there was a huge difference in the quality of the scenery before and after Pak Beng.

Both stretches of the trip have nice landscapes but it nevertheless gets monotonous after a while. Maybe someone who's done it recently can be more specific. Personally I thought the scenery on the road between LP and Vang Vieng was much more spectacular.

Just out of interest, how long does it take if you go by road from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang?

emielvl
backpacker
Posts: 13

#16 Posted: 30/4/2008 - 18:17


Hi SBE,

thank you for your quick answer!
By road it will probably take you 1,5 days. One day from huay xai to udomxai (11 hours by bus) and 5 hours from undomxai to lp. We were thingking of making kind of a round trip: huay xai - luang nam tha - udomxai - pak beng - luang prabang.

jenniemcmartin
newbie
Posts: 4

#17 Posted: 1/5/2008 - 01:43


Hey everyone! My fiance and I did the slowboat trip in December 2005.
There were about 50 people, it was very relaxing (thank god for earplugs), we actually had a great time despite DREADING the trip for a whole week prior.
Pakbeng was certainly interesting; we didn't book ahead of time but found a room no problem...there was a dead rat in our bathroom, but they got rid of it quickly!
The second day seemed very short which was nice as we arrived in Luang Prabang while it was still daylight, a bonus when you're trying to find a room!

A couple of tips: find a market in Thailand before you go and pick up cushions to sit on.

Bring some dried fruit and water with you...when we went they only sold Lays chips and Beer Lao...which is GREAT, but doesn't do wonderful things to your guts when you're on a boat for 10 hours.

Snag a seat on the FLOOR, forget the wooden benches, they're garbage to sit on for more than 3 minutes.

Bring earplugs and a good book.

Look outside every once in a while; we witnessed an elephant sauntering up the banks of the river...it was probably the best moment fo our 3 month adventure!!!

Layabout
longtail driver
Posts: 5

#18 Posted: 22/6/2008 - 20:29


I plan on doing this trip in August from LP to Huay Xai. Does any body know what the crowds are like at this time of year. I think the advice for cushions and ear plugs is great Thanks

Steve