TP Trails

We were closing in on our 30-day visa period in Thailand, so we had to decide where to go next and how to get there. From our research, the slow boat from Thailand to Laos on the Mekong River seemed like a great potential option. It seems there are two types of slow boats – the local slow boat and the luxury slow boat (many cruise companies available). We quickly decided that the local slow boat was probably not for us – based on others’ accounts, we were likely to sit on the floor for two days and fight for accommodation at the mid-way point in Pak Beng. This was the much cheaper option, but despite the costs, we chose to do a luxury cruise instead. There are many companies that offer this service, a few being Mekong Smile Cruise, Luang Say Cruise, and Nagi of Mekong Cruise. The Luang Say Cruise was much to expensive, and after reading reviews, we selected the Nagi of Mekong Cruise. We were absolutely satisfied with our decision – I’ve summarized our experience below!

Chiang Khong, Thailand

The day/night before the 2-day slow boat cruise, you can elect to stay either in Chiang Khong (Thailand) or Huay Xai (Laos). Nagi offers to pick you up at your hotel in Chiang Khong and help you cross the border from Thailand to Laos before boarding the cruise, so we chose to stay in Chiang Khong. If you want to sleep in the morning of your cruise, you can get across the border on your own the day before the cruise starts and stay in Huay Xai.

Chiang Khong ended up being a nice surprise for us. We took a bus from Chiang Rai midday and arrived in Chiang Khong (the bus runs every hour on the hour from Chiang Rai from 6 am to 6 pm and takes about 2 hours). On the bus ride, we stopped often to let people out along the way or to drop off and pick up packages. When we were close to the bus station in Chiang Khong, we ended up getting off before the bus station near our hotel to make our walk shorter. Overall, a very easy bus experience (we’ve found traveling in Thailand to be easy and stress-free).

We had booked a room at Baan Sakuna Resort and we were so happy we did! This has been one of the nicest places we have stayed on our trip thus far and for only around $30! The woman who owns and runs the place is very friendly and speaks English well. She offered to rent us bikes for free and gave us some tips about where to bike (there is a nice bike path near the Mekong River). We spent the afternoon biking around Chiang Khong. We had dinner at the hotel – there was a large group staying and dining that evening (as part of a motorbike tour), so the owner had us order in advance that afternoon so we didn’t have to wait for the large group to eat. Very thoughtful of her, and the food was delicious! Breakfast was included with our room (western-style breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and watermelon), so we enjoyed another meal here the next morning before departing for Laos.

Crossing the Border (Thailand to Laos)

Nagi dropped off the border forms at our hotel the day before the cruise started, so we filled these out ahead of time (if you cross on your own, the forms are available at the border control stations). We were picked up around 7:50 am and driven to the Thailand border control. Here we only needed our departure forms (received when we arrived in Thailand a few weeks before) and our passports. We quickly received our exit stamps and then got on a bus to cross the Friendship Bridge into Laos. All transportation associated with the border crossing was included with our cruise fees, but if you are crossing independently, know that you cannot walk across the bridge and the shuttle costs a small fee. Crossing the bridge takes about 5 minutes and then you deboard the bus to get in line at the Laos border control. Here you need a visa application form, an arrival card, and a departure card (all we had filled out ahead of time), plus your passport and a passport photo (we had these taken back in the US and carried a dozen with us for instances such as this). There are three steps at the Laos border control:

• Step 1 – drop off your passport, photo, and forms at window #1, get your picture taken.
• Step 2 – Pick up your visa, passport, and fee receipt at window #2 (takes about 1-2 minutes).
• Step 2.5 – Take out money at the ATM if you would like (kips for use in Laos) or exchange Baht/other currency
• Step 3 – Pay for the visa fee (based on your country – they scan the visa receipt received at window #2). Note that at this step you can pay in USD or kips. They are VERY strict about acceptable bills and many of ours were not useable (small flaws such as tears or markings). Crisp, new bills would be better if possible. We had enough useable bills to pay the $35/person visa fees (US)

Step 1 takes the longest as they have one person working at this window to process everyone. Fortunately, the line wasn’t that long when we arrived (we waited 15 minutes), but if it were crowded, you could probably end up waiting a couple hours.

We were officially in Laos! Once everyone else on our cruise got through border control, we got into a couple vans and drove to the slow boat dock (10-15 minutes) to board for our cruise!

2-Day Slow Boat on the Nagi Cruise

We boarded the slow boat around 9:30 am and set sail shortly thereafter. Patrick and I had our own assigned booth for the entirety of the trip (as did the other couples and families), plus there were several shared daybeds, so plenty of room to stretch out and relax. Our guide Xayphone (pronounced Say-pon) was very friendly and spoke excellent English. We were able to chat with him throughout our two-day journey to learn more about Laos. The boat owner was also our driver for the two days and his wife was the on-board chef; Nagi cruises rent their boat and services. Tea, coffee, water and fruit are available all day for free and there are some other snacks and drinks (e.g., beer) available for purchase. We spent our time on the boat reading, chatting with the other passengers and our guide, and enjoying the beautiful scenery as we floated by. We spent about 7 hours on the boat each day with a couple stops (two local villages and the Pak Ou Caves).

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Just before lunch each day, we stopped at a local village. They appear to time our visit with when the children are on a break from their lessons at school. When we arrived, they were down by the water swimming and playing, but quickly started trying to sell us bracelets. We had read that you shouldn’t give children money or buy items from them to help encourage them to stay in school. Honestly, we have no idea what the correct protocol is and felt very conflicted about whether to purchase a bracelet or not (and if so, how do you choose which child to buy from?). Ultimately, we ended up not purchasing a bracelet. From our perspective, the entire visit to the village felt very intrusive. So much so that we decided not to participate in the village visit the following day. However, others may feel differently about such a visit, and different visits may feel differently than ours.

Lunch was provided on the boat both days – the first day’s lunch consisted of chicken curry, fried fish, rice (both sticky and steamed), cooked vegetables, and fruit. The second day’s lunch consisted of fried chicken, a red meat sauce dish, green beans, and of course rice and fruit. Both meals were delicious! Shortly after lunch on the second day, our boat captain noticed a dead fish floating in the Mekong. He ended up turning the boat around to pick it up! His wife examined it and declared that it was still good – they imagine it escaped from a fisherman’s trap. Nothing goes to waste here, although I’m glad it was our last day on the cruise so it wouldn’t appear on our lunch menu.

• 

• 

• 

We also made a second stop on day two aside from the village visit to the Pak Ou Caves. There is a lower and an upper cave, each housing many Buddha statues. The upper cave requires climbing several flights of stairs and gets quite dark at the rear of the cave (flashlight helpful!). There are several people selling souvenirs and such as you climb to the upper cave. One item being sold was live small birds in cages. Apparently, it’s good luck to release these birds at the top/temples but seems to promote animal cruelty. Also, Patrick and I joked that the birds are probably trained to return to their owners to be captured and sold once more. We were both a bit underwhelmed by the cave visit, so it was good that we stopped on our 2-day cruise (and didn’t do a separate trip to see them from Luang Prabang). At the lower cave, they have marked water levels from a 1966 flood and the 2008 rainy season, both of which were apparently very high rainfall/flood years. It was interesting to note the current water levels against those years!

• 

• 

• 

The overnight stop is in Pak Beng, a town situated about halfway between Huay Xai and Luang Prabang. The Nagi cruise includes and arranges the overnight stay. There are three different hotel options, with different price ranges. We splurged a little bit more to get a room at the Le Grand Hotel – it was incredible. Definitely the nicest place we’ve stayed. We had our own private, large bungalow with a balcony overlooking the Mekong River. The hotel restaurant where we ate dinner and breakfast (included with our stay) was at the highest point on the property. Not to mention, there was an infinity pool with equally amazing views. The only downside was that our time at this resort was limited! We did take a quick dip in the infinity pool before dinner and enjoyed our early morning views as we ate breakfast the next morning. We ultimately loved our experience on the Nagi cruise and are so glad we decided to spend the extra money for some luxury. Floating down the Mekong was an unforgettable experience and a great way for us to spend our Thanksgiving! The cruise ended just north of Luang Prabang, but the cruise included transport to our hotel in Luang Prabang. Note if you take a local boat, you will have to pay a tuk tuk or taxi to take you into town.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•