The Slow Boat - Day Two

I woke up in the morning to some very odd animal sounds. I showered, went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, and saw two elephants on the other river bank. Apparently, there is a sanctuary there. The two elephants seemed to be having a blast from all the noise they were making. After breakfast, I packed up and walked to the pier, and found a seat with my friends. The two boats didn’t look the same as yesterday’s boats. Mercifully, all the partiers congregated on the other boat.

This second day of river travel was a little trying, The scenery was spectacular as expected, but it got monotonous. At my deepest moment of boredom, I started imagining that we were going into the Heart of Darkness. The horror, the horror. I just wanted to get to Luang Prabang. We were led to believe that we would arrive at Luang Prabang by 3pm. 3pm passed, and no Luang Prabang. Argh.

We finally pulled in to Luang Prabang‘s boat pier around 4pm, collected our bags, walked up the hill and booked a sawngthaew for the 10km journey to Luang Prabang. We agreed to meet the next day to go to the waterfall.

From the drop off point, I found my way to my guesthouse, checked in, rested a bit, and then took a walk around the night market. At the night market, I found a crowded little alley with lots of cheap eats. I ordered a khao soy, and I was surprised when I got a bowl that didn’t resemble khao soy in Thailand. It was delicious nonetheless. I then turned in early as I was tired from the boat ride.

Overall, this ride was a little too long and uncomfortable. I was very ready to get off the boat long before we docked. But, it was cheap (the next cheapest option was nearly $200) and I am glad I got to make new friends. Despite the many times we changed hands during this two day journey, the entire operation went remarkably smoothly, and the transfers were quite seamless.

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