From Northern Thailand we had heard that the ‘slow boat’ was a really beautiful and fun way to get to Laos. Getting to Luang Prabang via the Mekong River turned out to be an incredible journey with stunning natural scenery and, for us, the creation of a beautiful friendship!
Crossing the border into Laos was our first land border crossing in Asia. We were nervous because we had multiple slips of paper to fill out and unclear information on cost and process. The kids were jumping about and we noticed another family with three kids of similar age wrangling their brood as well, so we struck up a conversion – little did we know that the Lea family was on the same boat as us and that we would become great friends and travel companions for the next month!
Clearing customs turned out to be fairly simple once the American dollars were paid. Once in Laos we were taken to our boat, which was very comfortable and had plenty of seating both at tables and in the bow and stern, so the kids got to know each other very well, running up and down the length of the boat playing games, talking and taking in the scenery along the river. We were lucky because our boat companions (maybe 25 ppl) included a number of patient and humorous adults from around the world and another Canadian family whose son easily joined the troop.
After a ‘slow’ day down the river, we stopped overnight in the small town of Pakbeng, where we stayed in a guest house overlooking the river. The town is known for its beautiful sunsets and traditional Lao cuisine, and we enjoyed a delicious dinner of local specialties.
On the third day of our journey, we stopped at some caves and a local market that sold rice whiskey and some white liquor with snakes in it – we did not try the snake water but many did without symptoms of blindness or amnesia!!
By the end of day we arrived in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its temples, colonial architecture, and stunning natural beauty. We spent several days exploring the town (with the Leas – who by pure chance were staying at the hotel adjacent to ours) and surrounding area, visiting waterfalls, hiking in the mountains, eating at night markets and learning about the local culture and history.
The kids spent one afternoon at a heritage museum and learned about traditional Laotian life and fashion and because we are always on the hunt for an activity (units of time ;)) we were happy that the museum offered a papermaking workshop. The kids made beautiful sheets using fibers from the bark of a local tree and flower petals.
Our family travel adventures in Laos continued south to Vang Vieng, considered a worthy stop for outdoor enthusiasts and, we discovered, for young backpackers wanting to party! We had a fine time exploring the surrounding area, spent one day touring turquoise blue lagoons and one day kayaking the river. From Vang Vieng we continued to Vientiane to wait for the Leas and enjoy some delicious French cuisine.
From Vientiane we went to Pakse on a sleeper bus. It was definitely an experience we won’t forget. We had heard that each twin seat/bed was ticketed as two separate seats, so we wanted to make sure that all our seats were together to prevent an old Laotain grandma from having to be bunkmates with Nick. Thankfully, Beth (momma Lea) was able to get us 10 tickets, so we had five twin mattresses between the 9 of us! It was bananas!
This was our first sleeper bus experience and we can honestly say that we will make every effort to never overnight on a bus again. The road was bumpy and the bus driver seemed to have a heavy foot (and a ridiculous amount of gas, as it seemed every 2 miles he would belch so loudly to wake the front section of the bus), so sleeping was impossible for most of us; we could feel every curve and at points I feared that the bus was going to topple over. Jake surprisingly fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep for the entire ride!! He was the only chipper traveler when we arrived in Pakse the next morning.
Pakse was a pretty dusty town, but we were staying in a fairly nice hotel with the Leas and took a couple of days to relax by the pool.
