Thorn Tree travel forum

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going back a bit, but I paid 1100 for this in 2004 from one of the agents by Thapae Gate I chose after shopping around a little. I guess around 13 or 1400 would be a reasonable price now. That price includes food at the Chiang Kong guesthouse, but doesn't include accommodation during the overnight stop in Pakbeng which you have to pay yourself. If you want, you can stay an extra night or two there for no extra charge.

didn't like the look of the fast boat from a safety perspective and they sound bloody awful.

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Why would you need a package deal? It is easy enough to do on your own. Just_Bob recently posted about another outfit doing a similar kind of trip through a different border. Apparently, you need to be part of a group to cross there, but at Chiang Khong/Huay Xai there is no problem at all doing it all on your own. If you chose to do it with at package, you are highly likely to pay more than needed.

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3

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didn't like the look of the fast boat from a safety perspective and they sound bloody awful

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But it was one hell of a fun ride !!!!!

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But it was one hell of a fun ride !!!!!

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Sorry to be a spoilsport here, but I bet, that the fish in the river, the wildlife in hearing-distance and the occasional tourist trying to relax within earrange will not agree!

To the OP: You really do not need a package, just follow everyone else and mimic their actions - will sure get you to LP!!!

...just returned... leaving again shortly...

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thnks guys

6

I did the slow boat in the reverse direction and it was an excellent experience. It is very easy to organise yourself without a tour company although i cannot remember the price. It was very reasonable tho. You would miss most of the experience with the express boats. They are very noisy, uncomfortable, dangerous and expensive. my only regret is not staying an extra day in Pakbeng. It is a river town catering to those travelling the Mekong and has a lot of character about it. i am sure a full day could be well spent exploring the town and surrounding area. Good luck.

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Oh my Buddha #6! Let me just relate my experience here. I was having a grand old time in Luang Prabang. I was traveling with a few friends. One of them had a Lao girlfriend at the time (who is in jail now -- the girl -- that is a completely different story)! He was to head with us to Pakbeng before heading back to Vientiane with her. So, we all had a good night out there in LP on our last night. We drank a fair amount, and all of us felt like complete shit the next day.

Well, we got our lazy asses out of bed and made our way to the boat. The boat ride (slow boat) was probably one of the most miserable damn experiences I have ever had. We had been told that they would have some drinks and things on board, so I got on with about 1/4 of a small bottle of water. I had plenty of money, so I figured there was no reason to buy these things before boarding. Well, they had all of 4 large Beer Lao on the boat. We were all hungover as hell with no water. Other travelers were in the same situation. So, I eventually got a Beer Lao to cure my pounding head. Ha - It was warm. I drank it anyway.

The boat got in about 4 hours late as well.

So, Pakbeng was pretty interesting in the evening. We decided to stay a day to see what it was like when the tourists cleared out. We discovered that the town is quite simply full of yabba and not much to do. It was quite sad actually. Rats were everywhere. After eating there, I got deathly ill the following evening. I thought for sure that I had malaria or something. I had never felt so badly in my entire life.

Ahhh, the fun doesn't end there. I tried to find a doctor. That didn't work out. So, my one friend headed back to LP and Vientiane by boat. My other friend and I decided that I needed to get my ass back to Thailand as quickly as possible. The speedboat was the way to do this. My friend went down to the pier, and they didn't speak a single word of English. I hobbled my sick ass down there. Eventually, I got it across to them (while throwing up) that I needed a speedboat! I paid the fare, and I got no ticket back from them. They just smiled when I would ask when the boat would be coming. We sat there and many speedboats came and went. Each time, we asked when we could go. Keep in mind that I feel like I am dying at this point. Lao men were sitting around drinking and playing cards. Not a single person spoke English. After sitting there for about 4 hours with many, many trips to the bathroom, I was becoming very concerned. The blood in my stool was indicating dysentery or something really bad.

Finally, they came to me and pointed me down to the restaurant floating on the river. My friend carried my bag down since I was unable. We spent another hour sitting there before a speedboat came up. Everyone got on board as we sat there. Finally, the driver came up and pointed at us. They grabbed our bags and we followed to the fourth boat out.

I knew I was in for hell with no bathroom in my condition, but I got on anyway. We sat there in the blazing sun while all of the other boats left. We watched them take their break and put their helmets on before proceeding up the river. Ha, when it came time for us to leave, I asked where I could find a helmet! Of course, my boat had no helmets!!!! So, off we went! It was a fantastically fun ride that I would not have considered doing if I was not so sick! There were times when I actually forgot that I was so sick! The speedboat was wicked fun!

All was well by the time I got to Chiang Mai!

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8

To Losing Touch. sorry to hear about your bad luck re boat trip and health. I guess I was lucky as the boat i caught was well stocked with bottled water, Beer Lao, peanuts and other snacks. As well they had a basic menu where we could order lunch if we desired. However we came on board with provisions such as water, bread rolls etc just in case. At Pakbeng we stayed in the large hotel overlooking the river and it was excellent value for what they charged, which was no more than a couple of dollars each. The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and they also prepared fresh baguettes with tuna, tomatoes etc at a reasonable price. we went to the booking office near the pier, bought our tickets and were on our way without any undue delay. I agree Pakbeng may have a seedy side to it but I also thought it had character which I would have liked to explore a bit more. Anyway I love slow boats on the Mekong and look forward to travelling Saigon to Phnom Penh soon for the 3rd time. good luck.