Slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang scam

Myself and my boyfriend travelled from Huay Zai to Luang Prabang via the slow boat arriving yesterday evening. The whole trip went without a hitch, we even arrived an hour or so earlier than we had expected. However we were soon to find out that the reason we were early was because we were not at the slow boat arrival port in the centre of Luang Prabang we were at the 'new' port which was located approximately 10km outside of the centre. Conveniently there were a line of tuk tuk drivers at the top of the hill waiting to transport us to the centre.

A gentleman on board the boat had travelled the same boat route before assured us that this was not the correct port, we double checked our guides and our tickets for any shred of evidence that the port had changed but nothing came up. Another passenger claimed to have heard about a similar scam and said if we waited out and demanded to be taken onwards the driver would eventually give in and continue. We began a waiting game, with various passengers talking to the captain and others who seemed to be linked to the boat but the excuses were all different, examples such as the other dock is broken, other boats are allowed to use it but this one cannot etc... There were no legitimate or cohesive answers.

After we waited on board for 45 minutes or longer we got word that said apparently there was new legislation enforced as of April this year which stated this was the new port. On the back of this news we resigned to the fact we were not going to win and left the boat. Most of us gave in and negotiated cheaper prices with tuk tuk drivers while a few hardcore travellers walked!

We have searched for information on this Internet to try clarify if a new law has changed the arrival port, nothing has turned up. Also we walked down to the port in the centre today and there were at least 3 or 4 slow boats docked there. All of the passengers on board booked tickets based on the assumption we were being dropped in the centre of Luang Prabang and if a new port is being used we should have been informed by the ticket seller or the booking agents.

If you are booking tickets beware you could end up paying for a tuk tuk too, ask travel agents and the boat captain to clarify the drop off point so that you are getting all the information.

It's a pity the trip ended like it did, so many people had enjoyed it thoroughly and the end left a sour taste in a lot of mouths!

I've gotten dropped off there from fast boats. I don't think it's a scam, they just don't want too much boat traffic into town maybe. I've also seen the very expensive luxury slow boats leave from central Luang Prabang, so who knows. Maybe there are fees involved with docking in town.

The tuk tuk mafias do suck. I see them in operation at all the "new" bus stations they locate out of town. They overcharge and though the money isn't much it never feels good to be ripped off. I remember taking the bus Luang Namtha to Huay Xai and the tuk tuk to town cost more than the entire bus ride.

So, perhaps it is the new "port"? Hilarious the "hard core" (read "cheapskate") tavellers trudging 10kms with luggage to avoid paying for a tuk tuk...

Sounds like what has been the standard speedboat depot for years. First time I got dropped off there I was thinking "scam" but turns out they don't let speedboats go to the in-town boat ramp (too noisy) so you have to get a tuk tuk for something like 20,000 kip ($3). Sometimes better to just roll with it. Or walk 10km with your backpack to show how hardcore you are (LOL).

"So, perhaps it is the new "port"? Hilarious the "hard core" (read "cheapskate") tavellers trudging 10kms with luggage to avoid paying for a tuk tuk..."

"I refuse to pay the 50,000 kip for a tuk tuk but rather walk the 10 kms in the heat and dust"

C'mon,, give us a break!

These are the same people one sees shirtless in town wandering around with their bottles Beerlao in hand.

I sure hope someone will confirm or refute that all slow boats are to drop PAX off at the speedboat pier. If anyone gets dropped off in central LP please tell us here. If this is a scam I also hope that someone who got the short end of things would have very conspicuously taken a picture of the boat captain and his boat number along with whatever else could be taken and shown to the tourism office in LP. Just taking these pics will often get them to think hard about keeping it going but in this case he probably had all his tuk tuk buddies waiting up there and couldn't let them down. All this is for the rest of us on future trips.

Hi,

"These are the same people one sees shirtless in town wandering around with their bottles Beerlao in hand. "

How do you know that?

Welcome to Earth. This sort of thing happens all the time, and always has happened as long as there have been travelers. In travel accounts from the 1900s, 1800s, 1700s the writers all describe various and similar scams. Marco Polo surely got scammed. The Three Wise Men probably got scammed. The Hebrews fleeing the pharaoh's army surely got ripped off a time or two, and the first humans to walk out of Africa probably had a negative experience or two.

None of this justifies the scamming, of course. But if it stops happening in one place it will just start to happen somewhere else; it seems to be part of how the world works. Though it leaves a bitter taste, know at least that we are in good company. Me, I'll mutter and sigh and pay for the stupid tuk-tuk.

Another report that the slow boat now departs from the pier out of town:

http://www.free-wheelin.ca/luang-prabang-to-chiang-mai-by-slow-boat/

Note that they mention that the boat was anchored there, empty and departed later from there, so it was not coming from downtown and picking up more pax.

Seems they really moved the pier for good.
Not a scam then.

Maybe some of the luxury boats are still allowed to use the town pier?
++

No scam, it really is stuck out there now.

http://www.hobomaps.com/TravelLuangPrabang.html

Up to date as of December 2013