Slow boat and fast friends

Our mode of transport out of Thailand and into Laos was taking a two-day slow boat down the Mekong River from Huay Xai (across the River from Chiang Khong) to Luang Prabang, with an overnight stop in Pak Beng. The Mekong River runs on the border between Thailand and Laos from NW to SE before splitting off and eventually running  eastward into the heart of Laos. The boats are about 10 feet wide and quite long (maybe 80 feet). Some of the boats are more primitive, using old bench seats from vans as the passenger seats, but ours was slightly more modern with two rows of diner-style seats and tables running along the edges with a walkway down the center.

We loved being on the boat for about eight hours each day and having some forced relaxation where the top priorities were reading, watching the beautiful riverbanks, doing crosswords, napping, and socializing with other passengers. On that last note, we met some wonderful new friends on the boat that were seated adjacent to us. One was our super-friendly guide, Xayphone, who we got to know a bit on the boat as well as when we met up a couple times once we got to Luang Prabang. There were also two English couples (Chris and Florence, and Paul and Alison) that we chatted with a lot during the boat trip and had such a great time we all met up for dinner a couple days after getting to Luang Prabang. Both couples were also in the middle of long-term travel, and hilariously, both Chris and Paul worked in insurance risk management, and Chris is even an actuary! Out of about 25 adults on the boat, we couldn’t believe there were three risk management guys all seated together. We certainly had plenty to chat about, although understandably travel dominated the conversation as the more interesting topic.  Paul and Alison are blogging their travels as well: www.gouldingsgoglobal.com. It just so happens that our plans overlap two more times, so we’re hoping to meet up again in Vietnam and Malaysia!