Down the river with you…the mighty Mekong River!

From Thailand to Laos…

From Chiang Khong to the Laos boarder was pretty easy drive and an even easier crossing into Laos. Our guides on both sides were wonderful! Gotta love G@Adventures for great planning. The vans were waiting for us to take to the slow river boat down the Mighty Mekong river.

A beautiful new (teak) boat with comfortable seating and lounging places to have a ‘little lay down’, with a full kitchen and meals provided was almost like heaven.

All we had to do was sit back, relax and enjoy the view of Laos life on the Mekong! It was not nearly as populated or hectic as I had imagined… a slow pace and an enjoyable ride for a full two days! We disembarked the boat at PakBeng, had a wonderful little walk about the lovely little town, saw the local temple, had a great meal (with lots of rounds of rice whiskey) and a very enjoyable evening! Back to our river front hotel the Mekong Riverside Lodge for a good night’s sleep.

Featuring personal service and lovely traditional rooms the Mekong Riverside Lodge is a popular place. Check it out here: https://www.mekongriversidelodge.com/

Watching from our hotel room across the river, the elephants bathing the next morning, was a special treat as they trumpeted in the new day!

The mighty Mekong river is not very wide but provides a method of transportation (and has for centuries) as well as food and livelihood for many of the embankment residents. Lush forest on both sides as well as rock formations and sandy beaches makes the diversity of the river bank interesting and varied. Small communities with children going to school, water buffalo grazing and bathing, as well as people going about their daily lives make this boat ride a bit of floating ethnography museum.