Pak Ou: Cave Exploration in Luang Prabang, Laos

Like the touristy Batu Caves in Malaysia, the once spiritual atmosphere of the Pak Ov caves  is Laos dissipated long ago when the slow boats began bringing tourists over from the saturated Luang Prabang. I saw the caves on the way from Pakbeng to Luang Prabang, and I would not have made a return journey.

The caves are decorated with hundreds of Buddhas and a few alters, which make for interesting pictures. However, the entryways are tiny, and crowded with literally hundreds of tourists. With barely any room to move or photograph, it is a chaotic experience. 

A Room with a View: Thoughts from Laos

View from my hotel in Luang Prabang

This morning was usually warm. Perhaps that is why I was able to wake up so easily.  I took my laptop to a table overlooking the river, and it is from this view that I compose my first lines in this entry. The silence of the morning is broken by the distant cries of roosters, their voices echoing from one side of the river to the other. A man seems to be washing his clothes in the river, which is a yellowish green. The air is crisp, but it is impossible to distinguish the outlines of clouds in the sky. The morning sky here looks more like water than air. Never a sunrise, only a slow lightening up of the scene. Never color, neither cloud nor blue. Always that glowing white.

Last night we walked home after dark. After turning he corner  down the unpaved road that leads to our bungalow, we caught sight of a few authentic images.

A family sitting in their living room, singing from a home karaoke machine. A woman’s untrained voice softly drifting into the dark streets out from her open door.

The night sky, with Orion in its center, overlooking us. We looked back up at the start through the tangle frames of telephone wires. A steady cry form a bullfrog in the grass. The chirping of crickets. It was beautiful and it was ours.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, hotel, sitting by the river, Luang Prabang, 9:09 am

Shompoo Cruise to Luang Prabang

The author of this post, looking pseudo-serious

Cruising down the Mekong River has been on my bucket list for a while. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know when, but I knew that one day I would get to sail down this glorious river. My opportunity came when I decided to take the slow boat form Huay Xai to Luang Prabang in Laos. The cruise would last two days, roughly 8-9 hours each day.

Usually when I romanticize something to such a degree I am setting myself up for disappointment. How could the Mekong possibly be as enchanting as I was envisioning it to be? After a boring cruise down the Irrawaddy River, where the scenery left much to be desired, the boat was cramped and overcrowded, and I slept three hours below deck to the obnoxious churning of the boat’s engine, my expectations for the “luxury” cruise on the Mekong were low.

Boy, was I in for a treat. The first thing that wowed me was the boat. From the outside, it doesn’t look much different from the other slow boats. It’s wooden and narrow, with a low roof that can be opened. However, the interior was fabulous. I especially loved the tables, which were the perfect height to work from. Never did I imagine I would be able to write on my laptop while cruising down the Mekong! There were also long padded seats, so I could lay down and take a nap (which I did). The boat looked like it could hold 20 people comfortably, but there were only 12 on my cruise. This was great because every group had an entire table to themselves, and there was plenty of room to move around and take pictures.

On the Shompoo Cruise, unlimited coffee, tea, and water are provided throughout the day, and one buffet lunch is included. Both days the food was incredible. Local ingredients and Lao flavors made these dishes extra special. I was also grateful that there were fewer people on the boat because that meant more food for me! 

Lunch Day 1

Lunch Day 2

The river was very calm and the boat did not sway at all. There was absolutely no risk of motion sickness on this boat, and I was surprised that I was not even aware of any hum from the engine. It was a quiet and comfortable journey.

By far the best thing about the cruise was the Mekong River itself. The scenery was absolutely stunning. Tall, rolling mountains boarded both sides of the river with views that would never tire the eyes.

While on the boat, it was important to me that I faced forward, towards the direction we were headed.  If I sat backwards, which I did for only a moment, I felt annoyingly trapped in the past. As though I was falling horizontally, without knowing when I would hit the bottom. Facing forward let me know I was going somewhere. Progress was being made. It brought the mountains to me, the view presented them like gifts before my eyes. But from behind they looked as if they were fleeing me. Escaping from my vision.

From above, so many textures of green could be seen in the wobbling edges of mountain peaks. Rich velvet green from the droopy willows. Knife green from the palm tree leaves, milky green from the bushes on the shore, and between then, in their folds and cavities, even deeper shades. Rays of light don’t shine straight down from the sky like beams, they bend and weave around rocks and shadow the uneven hemlines in the shorelines like ribbons.

With the price of the cruise a few short tours are included. We stopped in a Khmu village, a Lao Lao village, and the Pak Ov Caves. They were all brief but worthwhile sights.

I strongly recommend paying more for a luxury cruise on the Mekong, instead of taking the overcrowded slow boat. We we docked in Pakbeng for one night, I saw over 60 people step off a boat that was the size of the one I shared with 12 people. This may be your only chance to see the Mekong. See it in style.

Chiang Mai to Huay Xai – VIP bus, local bus, tuktuk

Following a month in Chiang Mai, our next destination would be Luang Prabang in Laos. After researching some options, I decided that it would be best to take it slow, and enjoy many stopovers, rather than book some ungodly-long bus ride or take a plane. I would make my own way to the border then take the slow boat on the Mekong to get to Luang Prabang. 

The plan: 

Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai: by bus, 3 hours

Chaing Rai to Chiang Khong: bus 2 hours

Chiang Khong to Huay Xai: uncertain

Huay Xai to Pakbeng: slow boat, Shompoo Cruise, 8 hours

Pakneg to Luang Prabang: slow boat, Shompoo Cruise, 8 hours

Getting to Chiang Rai was the easiest part. I wanted to book a Green Bus and to do so, I simply walked into a travel agency near the Tha Pae gate and made reservations. They charge about 100 baht for issuing the ticket. Otherwise, you have to take a tuktuk to the bus station, which is pretty far, then wait in line and by it yourself. I decided to just pay the 100 baht to have the agency issue the ticket, since it would cost me more to get a tuktuk to the station anyway.

I  spent one night in Chiang Rai to explore the city and see the White Temple. It was worth it, but I wouldn’t stay longer. Chiang Rai is basically like a smaller, less-charming version of Chiang Mai.

The process of crossing the Lao border form Chiang Rai was both extremely difficult and stupidly simple.

Once I was in Chiang Rai, I wrongly assumed that we could purchase a ticket to Huay Xai on the VIP bus from any travel agency. There were dozens of places selling package tours which included a bus across the border, then two days on the slow boat for about 1,500 baht. Unfortunately, no agency was able to sell me only a VIP bus ticket. I would need to go directly to Bus Terminal 2 for that, which was far out of town, costing about 100 baht on a tuktuk to get there. I was also told that only 2 buses went to the border each day. It would be much simpler to just board one of the many public buses going to Chiang Khong and figure it out from there.

So that’s what I did. Buses to Chiang Khong leave every hour, one on the hour, and one on the half-hour. We bordered the bus at 12:30, which was piloted by a old-married couple. I paid 65 baht in cash on the bus. There was no bathroom on board, but we did make a short rest stop where I got out to use the bathroom. There was also no AC, but a nice breeze from the open windows took care of that. The couple was very kind, and when we arrived in Chiang Khong they dropped us off at the entrance to the Friendship Bridge, instead of driving all the way to the Bus Terminal, which was further away than the Bridge.

Public bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong

At the Friendship Bridge, I met an Italian man who spoke Thai and haggled for a tuktuk to the border for 50 baht each. I read that the price is usually 100 baht, but I think 50 is fair since we were three people. After receiving my departure stamp from Thailand, I paid 25 baht to ride another bus to the Lao Immigration side. Once getting my Lao visa and arrival stamp, I had to take a tuktuk to Huay Xai pier. I read that they charge a flat 100 baht per person, and I was prepared to pay that, but the driver did not want to take off with only two people. He said we had to wait until 5 or 6 people got on. Well, after waiting for nearly 40 minutes, only one other person came through the border, so reluctantly, he drove us three people into town.

Tuktuk to the border in Chiang Khong

Beautiful view of Laos from the border crossing

View after clearing immigration on the Lao side

Immigration bus, to be taken internally from the Thai side to the Lao side

Tuktuk in Huay Xai

The summary:

Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai:

Green bus, 170 baht/person + 100 baht fee for issuing it at a ticket agency, 3 hours

Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong:

65 baht/ person, pay on board, no reservation deccessary, 2 hours

Chiang Khong to Huay Xai:

To Thai Immigration: Tuktuk, 50 baht/ person, 15 minutes

To Lao Immigration: Bus, 25 baht/person, 5 minutes

To Huay Xai: Tuktuk, 100 baht/person, 30 minutes