Slowboat to Luang Prabang

Dinner with my family on the banks of the Mekong

I'm making another round of Laos with my family. When I was here by myself four months ago I didn't get around to riding the slowboat to Luang Prabang. This is supposed to be an unforgettable experience in Laos so we decided to do it.

Slowboats at the pier

It turned out to be such a disappointment. I imagined the slowboat to be full of local people with their stuff, the boat itself was supposed to have uncomfortable wooden benches and I somehow imagined that it would go slow.

Fancy seats inside the slowboat

It was nothing like it. There were about a dozen local people on the boat while the rest were all tourists. The seats looked like they came from an old bus and they were spaced so closely that the experience was like sitting in economy class in an airplane. The boat had a huge and loud motor that propelled it along the Mekong at a decent speed. There was a bar where we could buy drinks.

Children approach during one of the slowboat's stops

And thus we spent the better part of two days, crammed in those seats with very little legroom. Although the ride was tedious, we enjoyed the scenery along the way and had a nice time spending the night in a village where the boat stopped for the night.

View of the Mekong from the slowboat

I guess doing the slowboat is an experience not to be missed, not because it is so fantastic but simply because if I hadn't done it I would never have known that I didn't really have to do it at all.