We were a bit unsure whether to take the two day slow boat from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai or the overnight bus. We could buy slow boat tickets at our hotel but they were priced at 350,000kip which seemed too much and the pier wasn't within walking distance. After looking around, we managed to get cheaper tickets from Galaxy Airticketing travel agency based on Sakkaline Road. We paid 270,000kip* which included pick up.
*The cheapest way is to buy the tickets at the pier. It costs 105,000kip each day (for the boat) and a tuk tuk to the pier should be around 20/30,000kip. Just turn up at least half an hour before the boat leaves at 8.30am.
We got told to be ready for pickup at 7, we were the last ones to be picked up at 7.30am and it took about 20 minutes to drive to the pier. At the pier, our driver sorted out the check-in with our tickets and we boarded the boat, leaving around 8.45am.
The boat on the first day wasn't too bad, we managed to get a couple of seats each to spread across as the boat was only about 60% full. The seats are old car seats which aren't attached to the floor but they were comfy enough! Most locals sat at the front as they hop on and off throughout the day. You'll pull up at some rocks and they'll jump off and dissappear into the forests!
You will see some lovely views down the mekong river across the two days.
We arrived at Prakbeng not long after 6pm, where there are plenty of people offering accommodation at great rates (whether you want basic or something nicer). We stayed at guesthouse Syvongsack that cost 50,000kip for the night.
The guesthouse was basic with only fan rooms but the room was a good size and we had a private bathroom. We decided to eat and have a couple of beers at the restaurant- it was very cheap and we also ordered breakfast and sandwiches for the following day. Only negative was the WiFi didn't work.
The next morning, we went down for 7am for breakfast and got our sandwiches. We decided to leave around 7.45am and walked down to the pier. There were a few boats at the pier but we asked a couple of locals and managed to find the boat to huay xai. Unfortunately, a lot of the other travellers from the previous day were here already sitting on the car seats. This boat had fewer seats and had mainly wooden benches with a thin cushion which we had to settle for. None of the other travellers wanted to offer us a seat as all the couples spread out across two seats each. A little annoying when two then used the other car seats for resting legs instead of offering them not just to us but others on wooden benches! Oh well, some people are just rude.
The rest of the day wasn't the comfiest, but the river was much quieter today despite a lot of rainfall overnight. It was also quite cold in the morning so make sure you have a jacket with you!
Overall, a different experience and a very long two days, but the views along the mekong make it worth it!
3 out of 5
