Visit to Laos - getting to Luang Phabang

After rafting, I continued north to Chian Mai, a major city in northern Thailand with an awesome night market. There, I visited some temples, and got sick for a day. The north of Thailand gets hilly, and the scenery is beautiful, but I have already seen enough places like this. I was not in a picture-taking mood, but had a good time.

From Chian Mai, I continued on to the Laos border. It was time for another visa run. To get into Laos, I took a ferry across the Mekong River into the little town of Huay Xai (sounds "Huay Sai" - thank the French for the wierd translitteration of Laosian script. Even the name of the capital, Vientiane, should actually be pronounced something like Wien Chang). Anyway, Huay Xai is a very tiny place. In the picture, you can see half the town. I arrived in the early afternoon (having spent the morning in Chian Khong, on the Thai side of the border) to find that the few buses and boats I could take into more interesting parts had already left. I was stuck here until the next morning.

I had two choices. One, a 2 day boat ride to Luang Phabang (nice city in northern Laos - see following posts), or two, a 24 hour bus ride. The catch is that 150 Km take 24 hours in the dry season. We're in the wet season, and there's no guarantee the trip can be completed in 24 hours. It coud take 2 or 3 days, or longer if it rained a lot. (Overland trips in northern Laos are slow going because the terrain is mountanous and the roads very windy. Another 130 Km bus trip normally takes 6 to 8 hours!).


So, I opted for the 2 day boat trip. The seats were unconfortable, but the scenery made up for it. I could see villages on the sides of the river where people dress and live in traditional ways. The first day ended in a little place (town?) called Pak Beng. One the second day, the scenery was just as beautiful. The clouds and rain were nice to watch, but I was tired, so I couldn't wait to arrive. The trip was certainly worthwile, but 2 days was plenty for me.