So we heard all this great news about the slow boat before we decided it was the best option for us...full of travelers, a big party, best way to meet people on the way to Luang Prabang, blah, blah...It turns out that the boat ride was almost all of that, but also 2 LONG days of sitting on a really slow boat. Started off on the 15th getting to the pier at about 9AM. Boat doesn't leave until noon, but were told that you want to get their early to get a good seat. Managed to score some seats right at the front which were really handy...but lets talk about the boat. Seats started filling up and as we got closer to noon, more and more people kept arriving. Quickly realized that there are no capacity limits...they just pack on as many people want to buy tickets. So we finally set sail and I'm sure well overweight (see the pics) and the highlight of Day 1 was the drunk guy who came on board saying he had "beer, valium and whiskey" who fell straight off the side when he reached "for something that wasn't there." Good humor...but glad he didn't get hurt. We arrived at Pak Beng, a tiny village or the one night stopover where we were immediately hounded by hundreds of kids selling guest house rooms...Apparently this village can barely accomodate the two boats so finding accomodation was a scramble. We found a place within our budget but the beds were like the wooden benches on the boat and walls were plywood since we got shhed by the room next door after talking for a little while...haha!
Anyways, not complaining about the boat ride...it was a great experience! One I would recommend to anyone who needs to get to Luang Prabang. Met some really cool people from Slovenia, Israel, France, Kashmir, the States, and England who we'll probably run into over the next week in Laos. Day 2 on the boat was only a little longer starting at 9AM and on a smaller boat with the same number of people. Only real highlight was the stop for chickens which were in small cages and were put above the boat...interesting. We got in this evening around 5pm and found a good guesthouse after some negotiations. Had the best shower since Hong Kong and the water was hot, not warm...Luang Prabang is supposedly the best city in Laos so look forward to checking it out over the next few days. Everything shuts down at 11pm except for an after hours bowling alley...you know where we'll be.
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