Cruising through Laos on the Mekong River

After the long journey in Asia, we thought that we’ve seen enough and had little expectations when we booked our flights to Southeast Asia. Of course, each country always had something different to offer and we experienced new flavors in each individual land, but we need to say that Laos and the Mekong River impressed us in a particular way.

As we weren’t forced anymore by visa regulations to flight to the future destinations, as it happened between Thailand and Myanmar, we happily took the bus from Chiang Mai towards Chiang Khong, a small village at the border with Laos, where we spent our last night in Thailand.

The following morning we embarked on a boat that brought us along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang.

River cruise on the Mekong River

We applied for a visa on arrival when we crossed into Laos and the immigration control went fast and smooth. The tour company that we booked the river cruise with assisted us during the border crossing process and organized our transfer to the pier, from where we started the two days long cruise through some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes.

We were happy to travel in a different way, which allowed us to admire more of the natural wonders that would be more difficult to explore by traveling overland by bus or car. Apart from the colder wind in our second morning on board, the warm weather helped us to enjoy the journey to the fullest. Comfortable four-seat tables and long benches along the front part of the boat, as well as a small terrace with few chairs at the front allowed us to admire the surroundings from different angles and take many beautiful pictures.

We shared the table with the “dutchies”, our friends for the Netherlands which we got to know in Myanmar and with whom we met after also in Chiang Mai when we decided to continue the trip together for a few more days. Having them with us surely made the whole experience on the river more pleasant and enjoyable.

Lunch, snacks and drinks were served on board, so we had little to worry about as the personnel of the boat took good care of everything and everybody. We spent the whole first day on the river, with a short break in between, when we visited a local village.

At the end of the day, we got transferred to our accommodation, from where we could admire the beautiful valley stretching along both sides of the Mekong River at sunset.

During the second day, the boat personnel organized more activities for us, including visiting another village.

Short before arriving at our destination we also stopped for a visit at the Pak Ou cave temple, which is hosting more than 1000 statues of Buddha.

Late in the afternoon, we arrived in the port of Luang Prabang, where we planned to spend a few days, which became some of our best in the country and in all Southeast Asia. Read more about it here.

For more pictures from the cruise on the Mekong River click here to access the gallery.