Hi guys,
If you guys are thinking bout heading into Laos...I have to share with you this. You're going the wrong way! Many beautiful and cultural sights and smells to be had if you head north first and take the very slow slow boats down the Mekong river passing fishing villages, kids playing in the river, farming and fishing , cave formations and ancient monuments. Real Laos! Real nice! Real cheap too! Excellent photo oppertunities.
The friendship bridge at Nong Kahi you talk about is on the other side of the Laos border nearing Ventienne. Its ok, but you have many a choice to make. However, I believe Ventienne is not half as spectacualr and half as rewarding as coming down the Mekong on a number of different transports(fast and slow/sleeper boats) from the tip of Thailands north. It is the most culturally rewarding experience and well worth the xtra effort. We made the trip down the mekong and through Ventienne, crossing the border and into Thailand via Nong Khai. It was a bit of an anti-climax being stuck at the train station at Nong Khai waiting for the train back to Bangkok. Nong Khai is not very impressive in geography or attracttions. However, if you are in Nong Khai near the train station head out the front entrance and into the row of food shops parralell of the train station. There you'll find an asian eccentric who looks a little like something out of eighties rock concert hosting a small but delightful cafe. You should be able to spot him as he will have this mega speaker system set up playing western music nice and loud. In there you'll find the nicest ppl serving you and the finest duck! The food is awesome and the host(80's dude) is really very nice. Anyhow, unless you are not thinking about travelling any further north from Ventienne, you can enjoy travelling the Meking south through Laos, but if you seek Lao culture and friendly ppl, plus their famous luke warm Laos Beer(no refridgeration in most towns other than the Capital) , you should start north and slowly make your way down. Can't say enough about the trip... you can expect to enjoy close contact with Laos ppl. Word of warning. If staying anywhere in Laos, take your most precious stuff with you everywhere you go. We've heard stories, but nothing happened to us. These ppl are very poor, and your camera could feed them for 2 months or more so keep it close. I arranged with the guest house staff to watch over my room when I was not in it. (whilst staying in Pak beng). I paid them 10000kip then and promised to pay them another 10000kip if my stuff was still there whan I got back from my walk. All good!! 10000kip is nothing to us or in AUS dollars. But if you promise a little extra money, you can buy yourself a little reassurance. Nothing is ever absolute!
Just reading your thread. hope you get this in time. My wife and I did a similar trip, but we headed north into Chiang Mai first and onto Chaing Rai. The town there services the border travellers and are used to us. You can take a small boat over the river and check in through the border post on the Laos side. The boat ride was $5US and the passport/visa fee into Laos is $25-30US.Dont be tempted to "pre-buy" to save time, ppl will try to rip you off so just take your time and remain calm whilst you negotiate yourselves through the border post. From here you are now in Lao and can go to the slow boat port just 10mins away by tuk tuk or sawntaw.Ask the driver you want to go there, and again, beware and try to resist the operators at the border control who want you to buy tickets for the slow boat off them. Get the tickets for the slow boat directly form the slow boat operators. Very iimportant. You'll save yourselves a pretty penny.Non- boat operators in stores will want to charge you a bit extra and if you do buy off these operators you will find you are just exchanging a whole lot of US or Bhat for a handful of kip stapled to a piece of ticket. There's no way of checking the exchnage rate or even knowing how much the real price of a tick is. Note of advice. Kip in Laos is ok, but Bhat and US dollars gets their heads roll'n! Make sure you have plenty of both before you get to the border town on the Thai side as there are few places to exhange currency once you get to the rivers edge. (so-to-speak) I was taken for a ride when exhanging money from US to kip on the Laos side. $200 US apparently means 1.5 million kip? To this day I still have no idea but I deserve it for not being prepared.
The slow boats will take you down the Mekong river enroute to Laung Prabung via a small town called Pak Beng. The first leg of the trip will probably take 10 hrs the second, 12-15hrs, so i urge you both to buy pillows for your bum as the seats can get quite uncomfortable for long periods of time. The scenery is ABSOLUTLEY BREATH TAKING and you will see many fishing villages and interesting rock and rugged mountain formations all along this entire trip. Luang prabueng is an amazing french heritage listed town with heaps of casual easy-going attractions. Cafes, restuarants, cheap accomadation and loads of drugs if you fancy a spliff! Its cheap and you can chill alot here. Bring US dollars and lots of Bhat as they often wont like their own currency. If bringing US, make them small denominations....lots of them too. You can often barter for a room in Bhat and i believe we paid 100B for a decent room w/ shared bathroom over looking the river at Pak beng and $150B in Laung Prabang. Very nice location. Absolutely serene and beautiful! the slow boat is defiantly worth it, albeit, you will defiantly look back on the experience and be thankful you endured such sore bums. Definately buy 2 pillows each as they will want to store you main luggage in an understow on the slow boat and you wont have access to it or be able to sleep on it. Essential: food and water and a good book! No expectations!!!! I wish I was there with you, but , alas, I will have to wait till Agust '08 for or return.
Totally worth the round trip though. Best of luck. Dont pass this up, its very rewarding.
