Slow Boat to Thailand

Spent two days on a slow boat travelling from Luang Prabang to the Thai border - really pretty scenery, and a pleasant change from bus journeys. We had become a group of 8, having joined up again with Chris & Emily, 3 Canadians and an English guy they had met in Phonsovan...all great fun. We stopped for a night in Pakbeng, and had a really nice Lao meal at a local restaurant.


Day 2 was much the same as day 1 - lots of card games, reading, and general boredom by the end of the day. Still kind of glad we didn't opt for the speedboat, which would have taken only one day, but [quote from the guidebook] "not advised unless it's the last option"...



The border crossing was pretty funny though - we arrived on the Laos side at 5:30pm, and Thai immigration closes at 6pm. We were rushed from the boat to get our exit stamps, then literally grabbed our bags, ran to another small boat and motored a few hundred metres across the river. With bags flying everywhere, we rushed up to the Thai immigration desk, paid 20 Baht each (about 30 cents) and officially made it into Thailand, right on 6 o'clock. Never in doubt. :)


We were then taken to the bus station, given time to get some dinner at a small restaurant (excellent pad thai), and then onto the minibus for a 5-hr bus journey to Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand). Considering we didn't even have a receipt to say we'd paid for all this in advance, I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it all worked out.