Mekong River Crossing (Thailand to Laos)

On March 11th we arrived in Chiang Khong, Thailand so that we could cross the border into Huay Xai, Laos the following morning and then board a boat to travel along the Mekong River, the 10th largest river in the world. Here’s a photo of the moon at sunrise from where we had breakfast in Chiang Khong.

From all we had read there were two options for our journey along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang in Laos; the 2 day slow boat or the 6 hour speed boat. Each having its own drawbacks. The slow boat requires you to overnight along the way and in total entails about 20 hours sitting on a wooden bench in a crowded boat. The speed boat, on the other hand, gets the job done in 6 hours. Seems like an obvious choice at first glance. However, it’s not as good as it sounds. On the speed boat you are essentially sitting in the fetal position wearing a helmet with no cover from the sun as the boat barrels down the river. Not a great way to enjoy the sights of the mighty Mekong, but more importantly, way too dangerous for us accountants. At this time of year it’s the dry season in Laos and the river is probably 10 feet lower than during the rainy season which makes navigating the rocks very difficult. In the speed boats you would simply have to be lucky not to crash.

Fortunately for us, Eamon found a third alternative. A long boat that has two engines and can do the trip in 9 to 11 hours. Here’s a picture of Rena and our vessel for the day.




As it turned out the only people on the boat were the four of us, one other couple and 4 or 5 Laos people catering to our every need. Be that coffee, water, snacks, lunch or a never ending supply of Beerlao. Brady seemed quite happy with himself as we set out.

Here’s one of the speed boats taking a time out along the way.







And here’s a lone fisherman hard at work in the late afternoon.







Along the way we stopped at the Pak Ou Caves. They consist of two caves in a limestone cliff crammed with Buddha images of varying sizes and shapes.




Rena enjoying herself in the upper cave.