Slow Boat to Laos!

I am now in Laos after leaving Thailand on Monday. I took the slow boat to get here which was a great experience. The whole journey took three days and two nights in total from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang.

Day 1

On the first day, I got a bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Kong. The bus stopped in Chiang Rai to see the White Temple and I got my last pad thai for a while. We crossed over the Mekong river and then went through Laos Immigration which was an easy process but took a long time. I then spent a night in a town called Houayxay where I had a private room so had a good nights sleep :)

Day 2

On the second day I got a tuktuk to the boat pier to start the slow boat journey at around 8am. I was sat with a really nice group of people and we instantly clicked. The journey was so lovely - beautiful scenery and good chats. We arrived in Pakbeng town at around 5pm. I heard some people complaining about the boat taking too long… not sure what they were expecting when it is literally called the SLOW boat haha!

Pakbeng was a nice small town and a good start to experiencing Laos. I went out for dinner with the group from the boat and then went out for drinks. You can instantly feel a difference from Thailand as it is a lot less westernised, the people seem super happy to have tourists here and everything is cheaper. A nice evening with lovely people!

Day 3

On the third day, we travelled from Pakbeng to Luang Prabang. While the first day was quite spacious on the boat with space to move around, on this day, they crammed everyone into one boat rather than two, so it was completely packed. Thankfully we got on early so had good seats! We ate our packed lunch, played cards, and chatted. Beautiful scenery again and stopped at local villages along the way to let the locals off the boat. We arrived in Luang Prabang at around 5pm and then checked into my hostel.

The slow boat experience was so much fun and was a good way to just relax, take in the beautiful views and meet new people.

Since being in Luang Prabang, I have been spending my time with the same group of solo travellers that I met on the boat, who are some of the nicest people I have met! We have been enjoying lots of yummy food, going to Kuang Si Falls, watching the sunset at the top of Phousi Hill, making jewellery together and nights out😊 Feeling very lucky and happy!