Thai-Lao Border crossing @ Huay Xai 會晒

Today I gonna start my journey in Laos. My first travel destination in Laos is the ancient city - Luang PraBang (LPB). I have decided the best and safest option taking a slow boat to there since time is on my side. I knew it gonna be REALLY a time-consuming journey to reach there. 

Here is my 2 Day 1 Night itinerary :

DAY 1

- take the earliest bus to Chiang Khong [2.5 hours]

- go to the Thai Border check point.

- take a river boat to cross the Mekong River to Huay Xai

- get my passport stamped @ Lao Immigration check-point

- look up for any tour boat that goes to Luang PraBang by Slow Boat option

- exchange some Lao currency(Kip)

- get into the slow boat to Pak Beng [7-8hours]

- reach Pak Beng get a cheap GH (guesthouse) room

DAY 2 

- take the same slow boat to LPB 7-8hours

- get a cheap GH room in LPB

The green colored useful master map of Indo-china courtesy from TAT. 

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HOW DID I GET HERE? 
DAY 1 CHIANG KHONG (THAI BORDER)

It was almost 6 in the morning where the sky here started to turn bright. I caught the earliest Chiang Khong bus from the bus terminal. It is a local 3rd class bus without A/C (65B).

The journey took less than 2.5 hour to reach CK. The bus just stop me somewhere along the main street. I checked AppleMap but I wasn't sure where is the exact location of Thai Border Checkpoint. But I knew it is somewhere 1-2km away. To be on the safe side, I took an expensive tuk-tuk (40B) to get to there. 

I came to the Thai Exit checkpoint, there is no people waiting at the counter. It was so smooth and within a minute I'm done! I walked further down to the river pier and I could see few motorbikes and people were transported on boat and a China car-plate 4-wheel drive was transporting on a huge bamboo boat coming towards the Thai border. 

I paid for (40B), me and my backpack, to cross the Mekong river to the opposite side, Lao immigration checkpoint. The Mekong River looked muddy and water is unclear to notice any fish swimming below.

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HUAY XAI (LAO BORDER)

After 5 minutes on the boat, we finally set our foot in Laos DPR! It was my second trip to Laos by boat. My previous trip to Lao was last Jan where I joined a Chiang Mai tour group to Don Sao island, located opposite Golden Triangle. (Passport was not needed)

As soon as I reached Lao checkpoint river border @ Huay Xai, there were quite a number of foreigners waiting anxiously to settle their VISA. I was approached by a guy who seem to be a travel agent there. He just nicely told me to proceed to the counter since  I have a Malaysian passport so I do not need a VISA to enter Laos PDR. Without a Lao VISA, I could just walk pass the crowd and get my passport stamped within minutes! It is as simple as that!
(Note: Malaysian and A.S.E.A.N passport holders do not need VISA application or additional charges.)

I also checked with the guy about the Slow Boat to Luang PraBang. He quoted the price 950B, takes 2 days, including a night in a remote village Pak Beng, which is almost the same price in book. The accommodation in Pak Beng is excluded from the price.

I agreed with the price, I just needed to wait until 11am and he needs to send me to another river pier (1-2km away) to take the slow boat.

The slow boat trip (2 days 1 night) from Huay Xai-Pak Beng and Pak Beng-LPB will take about 7-8 hours for each day during hot season.

WHAT TO DO IN HUAY XAI?

There isn't much to do in this border town. I decided to have my early lunch here while waiting for the time to come. Many Thai imported food can be seen in the small grocery shops along the main street. There are also some Malaysian imported biscuits selling here. No doubt the prices here are slightly more expensive than in Thai since most of them are transported across the border. 

I exchanged some Lao money just in case. According to the local, Thai Baht is widely accepted in northern Lao: Pak Beng and Luang Prabang. I supposed it is because there are some close local businesses cross the border among the Thai and Lao people. 

(Exchange rate US $1 = Lao 7500-7600 Kip = RM3.20)

My lunch : Fried rice with chicken + egg 15,000K (RM6.20), not cheap though.

After my lunch, I just waited at the tour office. I noticed they did offer various transport options : Slow Boat, Speed boat, VIP bus and Minivan. They could also arrange a mini van(bus) to go to LPB and Luang Namtha (a remote village, close to China border). If travel by VIP bus, they can reach LPB, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang and even Vientiane (capital of Lao). 

It is pretty common to see these bottles of cobra whiskey for sale in here and LPB but these are less seen in Thailand nowadays. 

I was waiting at the tour agent office.Animal parts were hanging all over the wall.

I arrived at the river pier by bike. There are some backpackers seem to be going to LPB too. We all waited quite some time and a row of slow boats were orderly parked at the pier. 

At almost 11 plus, the boat kick started its engine and we are ready to depart! 

The passenger seats are obviously some standard car-cushion seats that are in quite new condition. I also read from the wikipedia, a soft blow-up cushion is longer needed as previously they were just  using all wooden hard benches. Nevertheless, all these car cushion seats are movable and can be easily rearranged according to the space in the boat. I occupied 2 seats since a Japanese guy switched his seat. It is not a luxurious boat and no live jacket is provided. (Safety might be a big concern especially in the wet season) Also I read there are incidents during dry season where the river level @ Mekong river became really low and at some point of time the boat couldn't move forward. The people on boat might need to get down and push the boat going further! 

But I feel I was really lucky as it was a smooth sailing journey all the way. I don't really feel much discomfort throughout the journey despite the usual hot tropical weather.

It was a long long journey to reach PB. 

This is my second time taking a slow boat in a foreign country. It was an enjoyable and slow-paced moment. The endless mountainous lush landscapes and thick forests were continuously flashing before my eyes. This Mekong river scene was pretty decent to me who lived in the city. From time to time, the boat would stop by a village or to pick up some locals from villages along the river.

Enjoying the scene around, talking to backpackers, reading book, drinking beer, eating snacks, taking a nap can kill time much faster! Everything seemed to be so slow-moving. C'est la vie...

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