Pakbeng, a dusty, tawdry town overlooking the Mekong River, is the halfway point for the 2-day slowboat cruise to Luang Prabang from Huay Xai (and vice versa). All passengers have a forced overnight in Pakbeng; as there’s really nothing of any redeeming value about this town, very few travelers stay more than 1 night before continuing their journey.

When the slowboat pulls into the pier, waiting onshore will be a ragged bunch of young men (touts) who are representatives of the guesthouses in the village. Somehow I liken this scene to a pack of ravenous wolves circling their prey - as soon as you get on land, one or more guys will grab your bags and hustle you to their sponsor’s guesthouse. Almost all the passengers on the slowboat do not have any reservations in the village, so where you stay for the night really depends on whoever hustles you first. The touts get a small commission from the guesthouse for bringing new guests and they also pocket some fairly substantial tips from the tired travelers. As there are usually 3-4 tourist crammed boats stopping every day during the season in Pakbeng, the economy of this one trick- pony town revolves around the slowboats.

When I did this slowboat journey last December, our boat did not arrive in Pakbeng until about an hour or so after sunset. As soon as I got off the boat, three young guys corralled my luggage and hustled me off in the dark to a guesthouse about ½ mile away from the dock. One of the blokes tried to hustle me, offering a lady for the night, opium and marijuana in that order. Of course I refused, saying that all I wanted was a good night sleep. Not willing to take no for an answer, he still continued to pester me about buying opium. I wonder why…

After depositing me at their sponsor’s guesthouse, I tipped them handsomely and proceeded to check-in. Fortunately, the room was OK - barren but clean, a decent bed and a private bathroom with shower tap. The cost was about 10USD. In the morning, the owner and his wife set up an impromptu streetside café in front of the guesthouse, soliciting backpackers passing by as well as their guests to patronize their cafe. While having breakfast - hot Laotian coffee with a warm baguette and jam and some freshly squeezed orange juice - I watched as a constant stream of backpackers passed me by as they slowly made their way to the to the boat dock for their onward journey. Needless to say, I was relieved to depart Pakbeng. Sort of reminded me of the Wild, Wild West…..
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I was walking up the stairs to the Slow boat ticket office at Huay Xai to buy my ticket for the two day passage to Luang Prabang, when a solicitious fellow Californian by the name of Peter approached me about the possibility about a far more comfortable alternative. It seems that he was trying to organize an impromptu private charter for 15 or more passengers on one of the newer boats in the village and asked me if I wanted to join him and his group - the cost being about 25USD. I told him to count me in! I waited for about 20-25 minutes for him but Peter was nowhere in sight. I heard from another farang that they were closing ticket sales on the last slow boat departure, so if I wanted to get a seat ion the boat, I better buy a ticket pronto. I waited another 5 minutes waiting for Peter to show up but to no avail. There’s an old expression - A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. So rather than risk being stranded in Huay Xai, I opted to buy my ticket. Just a couple of minutes later, I found out from one of Peter’s friends, that he was successful in securing the charter. Oh well… I was resigned to travel for the next two days on a dilapidated old longtail boat where the passengers were packed in like sardines, while Peter and his buddies enjoyed their ‘luxury cruise”.

I have already reported about the uncomfortable two-day ordeal and I have read other reports on the Internet where fellow travelers have remarked about the very uncomfortable traveling conditions. One traveler called it “the slow boat to hell”, while another traveler remarked that the vessel resembled a refugee boat.

About seven hours into the trip on day one, the private charter with Peter and his buddies passed us by - everybody aboard was smiling and laughing with a drink in their hands (and their legs stretched out) obviously enjoying themselves. On day two, we encountered another charter boat. It was a real luxurious vessel compared to the dump that I was on - it had nice leather seats, a cocktail bar and wood panels with a glossy veneer. Sitting in circle with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces, the 20 or so passengers waved at us in unison.

Bottom Line - If you’re thinking about going on a two-day slow boat cruise on the Mekong river to Luang Prabang, you don’t have to suffer like I did. There are alternatives to this ordeal - Scout around and see if there are any private charters being organized or if you’re part of a group, consider scrounging up enough passengers for your own charter. Also I read about a comfortable slow boat journey to Luang Prabang that makes it one day. Sure beats overnighting in the hustle-hustle village of Pakbeng, a dusty little place that reminds me of the Wild Wild West.

From Northern Thailand, one of the most popular ways of getting to the Laotian city and UNESCO world heritage site of Luang Prabang is on a 2-day slow boat journey along the Mekong River. The journey begins at Huay Xai on the Laotian side of the Mekong River across from the Northern Thai town of Chiang Khong. The Slow boat allows you to get a glimpse of village life along the Mekong River - navigating down the river to Luang Prabang, we passed by small herds of water buffalo, scantily clad children bathing in the river and fishermen in small boats. Framing the river on both sides were lush green forests with dramatic mountain landscapes looming in the distance.

While I enjoyed the vistas and the local color, the journey was somewhat of an ordeal as the boat was somewhat old and dilapidated and the accommodations - small narrow wooden seats - were fairly uncomfortable. In addition, I had to put up with bales of cigarette smoke from some chain-smoking European Farangs who were sitting in front of me. Although the listed maximum occupancy of these boats are about 70 passengers, typically the boat will not disembark until as many passengers as possible are loaded on board. On the 2nd day of the journey, I swear they crammed in more than 100 passengers aboard the vessel with many of the late arriving passengers-both farangs and locals- sitting on the floor in the baggage compartment towards the front of the boat. Talk about packing them in like sardines! In any case, this was akin to going on a 3rd class bus, and like a typical country bus, the boat made impromptu stops along the river picking up and letting off villagers as well as loading (and unloading) cargo. This was definitely not a luxury cruise, but there are alternatives.

On the 2nd leg of the journey (from Pakbeng to Luang Prabang), I had a freak accident but I survived - while I was walking to my seat, the wooden floor gave in and my right leg went through the crack. Startled, I immediately pulled my leg out of the hole and avoided serious injury. For a moment, my mind flashed back to a similar incident which happened during a bamboo rafting expedition in rural Thailand - my right leg slipped between two of the bamboo slat when my oarsman slammed into a riverbank.

I found this beautiful orange flower growing on a medium sized shrub, just outside of Agalico Café in Bangkok. Resembling species of wild roses, this plant is actually a primitive cactus with leaves. The leaves are dark green in color and the plant has a long spiny stem. Indigenous to tropical America, Rose Cactus Pereskia Corrugata is a very popular ornamental plant in Thailand

When male farangs get together and drink copious moments of beer it will usually lead to some very lively intercourse and humorous banter. In United States, we call this exchange between male friends -‘shooting the shit”. When I was in the Yunnanese village of Mae Salong in Northern Thailand, I inadvertently joined one of these ‘shit sessions” at Shin Shane Guesthouse aka Farang Central.

All of these guys - two were Dutch, one was German and one was a Swede - were in my age group, early to mid 50’s - and they were very seasoned travelers-road warriors, having journeyed to Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, Iran, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan and other exotic oddball places. Compared to these blokes, I was the equivalent of a virgin traveler. Of course, the conversation started with how could America elect such a moronic president like George Bush and drifted to an exchange of traveler’s stories and anecdotes. As it was getting late, I excused myself after sharing a round of beer.

Shortly before leaving, Mr. Swede told me that they were going to solve the world’s problems, and the next morning, they would tell me what to do.

That was one of the funniest lines I have heard. These guys were a real riot and I enjoyed my brief encounter with them, even though I had to tolerate their noxious cigarette smoke. For the full story, go to Tales from Farang Central.

Last weekend, we drove to Amphawa, a district located in Samut Songkhram, a small province only 72 km. south of Bangkok. It is a small village where you will experience a floating market featuring a wide variety of food such as Thai papaya pok-pok (Thai spicy salad) and traditional Thai desserts as well as seasonal tropical fruits and fresh vegetables. In addition, there are a variety of Thai handmade products on sale. At night, a well-known activity here that is a MUST is a boat trip to see fireflies. We arrived the ‘Amphawa’ floating market around 3:00PM; for those who have been to Damnern Saduak Floating market, this place is much different from what you can imagine. Open from 4 to 7 p.m. every Friday to Sunday or on public holidays, you will see not as many boat vendors on the scene but Amphawa is considerably more authentic than Damnern Saduak.

I ordered ‘Phad Thai’ from the boat noodles vendor and ate my meal on shore, which is well equipped with tables. Then we walked along the riverbank where there are a few coffee shops by the canal as well as gift shops selling postcards. Stopping at a foot massage stall, we rested up until it was a dark - about 7:00PM - at which time our firefly watching adventure would start.

We hired a boat that could accommodate 5-6 people for 2 hours of firefly watching at 150 Baht each. Through the darkness, we saw loads of tiny living insect with golden bodies moving back and forth!! It is as if we had twinkling golden little stars close at hand. My niece referred to this memorable scene as Asian Christmas Trees.

In Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai Province, the biggest tourist trap is the small town of Sop Ruak. Officially known as the Golden Triangle, this small town lies on the banks of the Mekong River where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar converge. The Golden Triangle throbs with tourist activity, and on weekends in particular, the small town becomes a parking lot for large tour buses from Chiang Rai loaded with tourists primarily from Bangkok. I admit that I am not partial to tourist traps and I prefer to spend as little time possible in these kinds of places before moving on. Continuing south of the Golden Triangle, just off the highway to Chiang Rai is the exit to Chiang Saen Lake. In my opinion, this is one of the most pleasant and scenic locales in Chiang Rai Province. The lake is a popular stopover for many species of migratory waterfowl including some species from Europe; reportedly the greatest numbers of migratory birds are observed in the months of November and December. In early December, to complete a day of touring, Fatcheek and I stopped at Chiang Saen Lake shortly before sunset and boy, I am I glad we did. While we did not see many birds, the beauty of the lake was outstanding and the sunsets were magnificent. What a wonderful and idyllic place!

The Royal Flora Expo, Thailand’s International Horticultural Exposition, officially ended its three month run on January 31st. Just curious how many of you attended this gala event? Please post your feedback here. FYI , Fatcheek and I attended this event on Nov 28 , 2006.

Most of the people who traveled on the 2 day slow boat journey to Luang Prabang did not have any advance reservations for accommodations - I guess you could say they were winging it. In other words, upon arrival they would hunt for suitable (and cheap) accommodations. Many of these travelers carried a guidebook or two to aid them in their search. This spontaneous travel planning is somewhat typical of “the backpacker type of traveler”.

On the other hand, I had booked my accommodations in advance for the duration of my 42-day adventure. In Luang Prabang, I had read a lot of good reports about Thong Bay Guesthouse. Acording to what I read, Thongbay Guesthouse was perched on a hillside above the Nam Khan River and located about 2 KM outside of town. Some of the thatched bungalows had views directly overlooking the river. If one wanted to go into town, the hotel rented bicycles at a nominal charge of $1.00USD per day. As I was looking for some accommodations in a quiet, peaceful setting where I could chill out, this sounded like the perfect fit for me. What was the damage? …. $20.00USD per day for a bungalow with a river view.

For most of my fellow travelers on the slow boat, $20USD would have represented a real splurge. I am guessing that most them stayed in guesthouses costing between $5-15USD and located for the most part in the town of Luang Prabang. There are over 125 guesthouses in Luang Prabang and most of them are in this price range.

I definitely did not regret my decision to splurge at Thongbay. Located amidst some lovely tropical gardens, this small family run resort was very serene and peaceful and I found the staff to be very pleasant and accommodating. My bungalow was absolutely delightful - simply but attractively furnished, my room was very large and comfortable with a huge ensuite bathroom. Going out on my large outdoor terrace, I had commanding views of the Nam Khan River. Every morning, I would have breakfast - fruit salad, a hard boiled egg or two, strong Laotian coffee and hot toasted croissants with jelly - served to me on my private terrace while I watched the local people tend to their hillside vegetable gardens on the other side of the river. After breakfast, I would typically do some work on my laptop computer or continue reading one of my vacation novels, Tyrannosaur Canyon or Broken Prey.

I found Thongbay Guesthouse to be one of the best and most relaxing places that I stayed at during my 42-day odyssey. Owned by an amiable Swiss gent and his Laotian wife, this small resort cum guesthouse of about 20 units is highly recommended.