Day 2+3: Slow Boat to Luang Prabang

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D A Y   2

	Breakfast (included) of 2 pieces of toast with butter/jam and scrambled eggs was served from 7-8 am. If you want, you can also order more elaborate breakfast with bacon for 70 baht. At 8ish, we picked up our lunch of fried rice or baguette (included) and our passports with a visa for Laos, which took up a whole page. At 8:20 am, we were driven 10 minutes via a minivan to Thai immigration. You have to pay the immigration officer 5 baht. While in line, the driver handed out a bus ticket to each passenger. Everyone got on a big bus for a 15-minute ride across Mekong River to Lao Immigration. Since we already got a visa for Laos, we could go straight to Lao immigration, a much shorter line. The queue for Lao visa was much longer. There's also a currency exchange counter there. Most nationalities will get a visa stamp allowing you to stay for 30 days. After getting through immigration, you need to pay another $1 or 10,000 Lao kip "overtime fee" if it's the weekend.
	Everyone on our tour got picked up by a songthaew (pickup truck taxi) waiting right outside. We were then driven to a local travel agency (just a random house) where we once again handed over our passports, apparently needed for the boat ticket (thought it was a bit sketchy having to hand over the passport but had no other choice really). The travel guide explained the boat trip. He can also exchange currency for you at a rate including commission (1 baht = 220 Lao kip; in Luang Prabang, you'll get 1 baht = 245 kip or 1 USD = 8000 kip at most currency exchange places). There were snacks and drinks on sale. At 9:45, were were back on the songthaew. After 20 minutes, we were driven to another shop near the pier in Houeisay/Huay Xai to wait for our passports and boat tickets. The shop also sold snacks and drinks — 40 baht for a sandwich & 30 baht for an 1.5 L bottled water. At 10:30, we got our passports back. Each person also go a boat ticket — you must hang onto this for the next 2 days or might be asked to pay again. We then walked a couple of minutes down to the boat.
	At 11:20, the slow boat departed for Pak Beng. Note that you will probably be boarding the boat on makeshift bamboo planks and getting to the pier on sandy steep slopes, so having a suitcase is probably not the best idea. The boat had what looked like seats ripped out of cars or minivans. Some seats can even be reclined. There were assigned seats with numbers written on pieces of paper. Some people had to sit in the back on the floor. If secondhand smoke bothers you, avoid seating on the right side towards the back, as that's where people smoke. There's a Western toilet as well as a squattor, but you need your own toilet paper. Since your bags are stuffed under the floorboard, you won't have access to them until you get off the boat, so make sure you have what you need on hand. In case you forgot to load on on snacks, there's a small shop on board, selling instant noodles, snacks, beer, and other drinks at inflated prices (chips or coke for 40 baht or 10,000 kip). People might com on the boat trying to sell accommodation in Pak Beng, but there are lots of guesthouses in town so it's probably better to wait until you can see the rooms in person.
	Although the the color of Mekong River is a murky brown and it was a bit hazy, the scenery was quite beautiful. You could see huts in stilts, local villagers carrying grass on their backs, cows grazing or having a soak in the river, stretches of sandy beaches mixed with rocky ones, and lush mountains on either side of the river bank.
	At 5:30 pm, after 6 hours on the boat, we arrived at Pak Beng Village. It's a quiet small country town with quite a few of guesthouses, riverside restaurants (15,000+ kip for a main dish; 10,000 kip for a large beer), bakeries (10,000-20,000 kip), and shops (5000 kip for an 1.5 L bottled water). There are also 2 ATM's (turn right up the hill, straight down the road). At the pier, people with signs might try to sell accommodation, but again, it's probably better for you to see the place for yourself first before deciding. The town is pretty small so it's totally walkable.
	Because we were worried about finding a room, we went with Bounmee/Bounmy Guesthouse at 300 baht a night, which was not 100% awful but definitely not somewhere I'd like to ever go back. Later we walked around town and asked nicer looking places for their prices — prices range from 200 baht to $50 USD per room. If you turn right after going up the hill form the pier, there are many guesthouses for around 300 baht a night. Almost all the guesthouses are less than a 5-minute walk from the pier, up the hill.

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The slow boat to Luang Prabang departs at 9:30 am. You could choose whatever seat on a first serve first come basis so get there early. The same ticket used yesterday was collected. It's a bit chilly for the first couple of hours so make sure you have something with long sleeves. The boat arrived in Luang Prabang at 4:20 pm, after nearly 6 hours, again going through some very scenic places. Other than the occasional floating plastic bag, annoying backpackers comparing countries they have "done" thus far, and engine noises, it was total serene natural beauty all the way.

Apparently, the pier is another 10 km from Luang Prabang, so we had to buy a ticket at 20,000 kip per person for a tuk tuk-songthaew. It took 20-minutes to get to the city center. We got dropped off at this street with lots of guesthouses near the night market. You can get a dorm bed for 40,000 kip or a room with ensuite bathroom for 100,000 kip. Nicer guest houses are 20-55 USD per night.