SCENES IN PAKBENG AND DAY 3,
The 3 Day Slow Boat From Thailand to Laos, Pt 3. That night we docked at Pak Beng, a village in the middle of nowhere. We checked into a basic guesthouse. You won’t be surprised to hear that the electricity in the whole village went out about five times. This must happen fairly often because as soon as we left the hostel, the whole town lit up with candles.
Surprisingly, the town had a bit of life about it, probably due to being a stopover for tourists taking the boat. We went for a bite to eat and heard some noise coming from outside, so we decided to investigate. When we walked outside the restaurant, we were greeted with absolute mayhem! Suddenly, bangers and fireworks were being thrown across the street. A parade of jeeps and vans, with up to 20 people crammed into each, went down towards the river.
SISAVANG VONG
There was obviously some event on and the restaurant owner was off his head on I don’t know what, but he gave us 4 or 5 free shots of the stuff. He claimed it was banana whiskey, but I wasn’t so sure. Later he explained it was a Buddhist holiday that celebrates the life of Sisavang Vong, the King of Laos until his death on October 29, 1959. It didn’t seem much like a celebration, more like a riot on the street followed by letting off a few candle boats at the river. Their Buddhists seem as religious as some of the folk we have at home.
FIREWORKS
Anyway, we gathered a few bangers ourselves and headed down the street. I swear I haven’t had such a good buzz; it felt like home. People were literally throwing bangers into groups, onto cars, and just into the air. I had a few scares myself. I even got a hole in my swimmers from a random banger Mike found and couldn’t get rid of. It was unbelievable; anything goes.
They don’t have much sense of danger here. The scene reminded me of something between the 12th of July and Halloween. A little kid, probably about 5, joined us. It was crazy that he was trusted to walk away with some strangers, or so we thought. He ended up getting a banger to the ankle but was enjoying it too much to want to go home until his dad found him and had a go at Mike for taking his son.
BACK ON THE BOAT
The next morning was a bit of a struggle. We didn’t fancy taking any chances of getting a good seat for the next boat run downstream, so we decided to be smart and head down to the boat early. We got better seats at the front this time but will have to take turns doing the beer run.
Another day was spent drinking, chatting, and staring at the scenery. But it wasn’t long until our boat had an issue. We were too close to the shore when dropping off a package, and the propeller shaft bent. While beached, a little family came from the banks, and the kids tried to sell stuff. It wasn’t nice to see; you could tell their parents pressured them to sell. Sometimes the kids scolded their siblings for getting distracted or playing with tourists instead of selling. It isn’t really helped by people giving them money and food. It was as close to a zoo as I’ve seen, with people coming to the windows, taking pictures, and giving out goodies to them.
At this stage, we saw the speed boat fly up the river. Thankfully, it appeared that I made the right decision when I saw everyone sitting in the fetal position, wearing helmets, and bumping along on their hard wooden seats. Not long after, I met someone who had taken the fast boat and said it was one of their worst experiences. Eight hours of that doesn’t sound appealing!
We eventually made it to Luang Prabang, Laos’ second-biggest city, and everyone just thought it was another stop for the locals. There was nothing to the place, and it wasn’t until the captain got up and said, “This is Luang Prabang,” that everyone got off.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the end it turned out to be the right decision after all I met 3 great friends who I went onto travel the rest of SE Asia with. If anyone is considering heading to Laos I would have to say that the Slow Boat would only add to the experience!
NEXT UP
The following day was spent exploring the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen, something I did not expect to come across in Laos.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
This episode is part of The South East Asia Series, click to see episode 1.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
