Chiang Rai and the Slow Boat

The day after, we had planned to cross the boarder into Laos and then get the morning boat down the Mekong for a 2-day trip to Luang Prabang. We started by taking a very rural looking bus from Chiang Rai to the boarder crossing, having looked online the night before and checked with our hotel front desk for the bus timetable. We were led to believe the buses left every 30mins starting at 6am. However when we got there for the 6:30am bus, we found out the first one wasn't for another hour, putting us behind schedule. Will was starting to think we might not make it in time for the boat, but I still secretly had my fingers crossed! Once we arrived at the boarder all hopes we're dashed though, as one of the information point employees told us the boat had already left for the day. Turns out the slow boat to Luang Prabang actually leaves at 9-10am and we got to the boarder for 9:30am. We decided to carry on as planned to the boat pier and found accommodation near there, so that at least we would be ready for the next day. Once we'd found somewhere to stay and checked in, we explored the local area. We found a street-side restaurant and ordered lunch. I was a bit freaked out by the whole ducks foot in my broth though and had to give it to Will to finish. The rest of the day was spent chilling and just mentally preparing ourselves for the 2-day boat ride ahead.

We were up early on Friday and ready to actually catch the boat this time! Our accommodation host had sorted out tickets and a lift right down to the pier for us, so there was no way we were missing the boat again. We arrived pretty early and were one of the first ones on, but the boat slowly filled up with a steady trickle of tourists until we were ready to depart. After the initial excitement of being on our way and seeing the countryside floating past, the novelty quickly wore off and we had to find ways to entertain ourselves for 7-hrs of travel. Between podcasts, music and snoozing we made it through and finally arrived at the overnight stop in Pak Beng. When we disembarked there were loads of locals waiting at the pier to advertise their guesthouse and try to get us into their tuk tuk. We agreed a price with a lady for our accommodation and headed off to her place. There was an Indian restaurant nearby, so the choice for dinner was a no-brainer! Unfortunately, when we got back from dinner we started to encounter what eventually became a major issue for the night. Our room had been invaded by an army of moths! We strung our bug nets up and hid under them in the dark, hoping the moths would fly out into the light hallway. Will managed to get to sleep pretty quickly, but I was freaked out by the sound of the moths flying around and it was a rough night of sleep.

The second day of boat travel was less boring for me than the first, as I settled into the slow lifestyle, watching the countryside go past. I even saw a swimming snake. Will however, found the second day more of a struggle and was getting antsy only 4 hours into the 7-hr day. When we arrived in Luang Prabang in the evening, he was so glad to be back on dry land and able to stretch his legs. We took a tuk tuk to our accommodation and after check-in we explored the area for local restaurants. We were pleased to find that we were only a 5-min walk from the night market, where there were plenty of dinner options. Then we headed back to our guesthouse to relax and rest before the next few days in Luang Prabang. We can't wait to get to know the city and discover all that it has to offer!