Ban Houayxai Things to Do

4 more images

The main reason for coming to Huay Xai is to take the slowboat to Luang Prabang along the Mekong River. The trip takes two days with an overnight stop at the small village of Pak Beng along the way. The trip is very popular with western tourists but also caters for local people who ride between various villages that the boat calls at.

The boat I took left an hour late at about 12pm but check the departure time when you book your ticket. The first day's trip passes by a few bamboo stilt villages but there was very little life on the river itself. The boat arrived in Pak Beng at 5.30pm and you can easier find accommodation for the night. Pak Beng is a small, simple, charming place with a few shops and restaurants. The boat leaves at around 9.45am on the second day but again check the departure time when you arrive in Pak Beng. The second day is better than the first as you see more life on the river, plus we saw some working elephants drag tree trunks down a hill to a waiting boat. The boat also stopped at some more villages to drop off goods and food plus people and even live chickens in cages which were on the roof of the boat. At one stop several 50kg bags of rice were delivered. The boat arrived in Luang Prabang at around 5.45pm just as the sun was setting over the river which made for a magical arrival.

The slowboat ferry dock in Huay Xia is located about a kilometre north of the immigration office/river crossing from Thailand dock. It's best to take some snacks for the trip but you can stock up at Pak Beng for the second day if you so wish. The boats have wooden seats with no cushions so it's best to buy a cushion for added comfort bearing in mind that you'll be sitting down for the best part of 2 days. You can buy them at a shop along the turn-off road that goes down to where the slowboats are docked. I bought my ticket from the slowboat ferry office which is located at the dock and this cost me 950 baht - 220,000 kip/US$30.