Luang Prabang to Pak Beng

The slow boat is very relaxing if a little hard on the rear!  About the only thing to do is sit back listen to music, read, talk to fellow travellers and watch life on the Mekong and the banks as we chugged slowly up the river.

Saw many of the infamous speed boats go past…... you would have to be desperate to save time to go on one of them. 

They fit up to 6 people, some seem to cram in a few more. All the people in them are wearing crash helmets and life vests and mostly they are tourists. You can hear the buzz of their engines long before you can see them which should tell you something since the slow boat is not all that quiet either.

Then you see them a whole heap of tourists with their knees pressed up to their chins hurtling down the river. Six hours in one of those things just so you can get to Luang Prabang in one day instead of two?! Personally I stick to the slow boat.

Pak Beng, what can I say about this place. I stayed in what is possibly the worst accommodation since I’ve been in the country. Bounmy Guest house, this place is a dive! They charged us USD $5 for the night, they tried for $7 but we all refused to pay that much. The room had it’s own shower, cold water not hot and a fan in the room. About 10pm - 11pm they turn off the generator and along with the noise you also loose your lights and of course the fan. The other places in town charge about $1 to $2 a night for the same sort of room but some of them looked a good deal nicer. Unfortunately they were full.

At least the company was good. I had dinner with a group of other travellers who were on the slow boat today and will also be on the boat tomorrow.