Nagi of Mekong trip report

There have been a number of posts about the Nagi and finding current information. I went on
the Nagi of Mekong in February this year (2011) and it was wonderful, in fact it was the
highlight of my trip.

Adisak had been in contact with me via email. He offered to pre-book my bus ticket for me
from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong which I accepted. The ticket was for the Green Bus departing
Chiang Mai at 8.30am and I had window seat 5A. The cost was 272 baht and he said to make
payment when I paid for the cruise. He booked me a room at Chiang Khong Teak Garden Hotel
(the rate was lower than if I'd booked it myself online). Although it was a little
higher than I'd wanted to spend, it was well worth it and I had a wonderful view across
the river. Adisak met me at the hotel and said he'd pick me up tomorrow around 8.00am or
so. I watched the sunrise the next morning. Beautiful.

The next day, true to his word, Adiask came, took care of my luggage and we picked up some
other people on the way. Our luggage was taken care of so that was one thing out of the way,
as was the details of exiting Thailand and entering Laos. We went across to Huay Xai in the
little ferry, Adisak met us on the other side. At the Immigration window it was a nightmare
- people shouting, people pushing waving passports. Adisak took our passports and necessary
papers, told us he would take care of things and to go across the road to the little
cafe/restaurant overlooking the river and wait for him there. This we did and spent a very
relaxing half hour or so drinking tea and getting to know each other. Had I been going on
the cheap, public slowboat, it would have been a very different story.

Adisak came back, herded us all into the mini bus and off we went, down the streets to the
pier. This is our boat The Nagi

Our boat had very comfortable seats, and Phet was our tour guide on the boat. Hot lunches,
tea, coffee, and drinking water are included, as is overnight accomm at Pakbeng including
breakfast. Alcohol is extra. We stopped at two villages along the way. The first day we
were unable to pull in at a village and so had lunch first. A most delicious meal - fresh
river fish, a meat (water buffalo) and potato dish, another dish with green vegetables and a
soup. After lunch, we stopped at Houay Hao - it was a steep climb up all that sand and
pretty hot I can tell you. Boy was it hot! But worth every minute of it. We walked through
and Phet gave us information about the village. He answered my many questions. The people
were very shy. I crouched down on the ground and spoke with the children (in my broken Lao
and English) I asked could I take photos but the adults shook their heads meaning no. I just
chatted away, smiling and when I asked again if I could take a photo, they nodded yes. Each
photo I took, I would show them and zoom the picture so they could see. They seemed pleased
with the result and were very friendly. I was very grateful for this. This is a Khmu
village, the people here are middle Lao people, they are animists. There are 37 families and
around 200 people. Soon it was time to leave and head back to the boat.

We arrived at Pakbeng and settled into our accommodation Phetsokxai Hotel. The rooms were
very clean with lovely polished timber. With a huge outdoor area overlooking the Mekong it
was a lovely place. Most of us decided to go into town for dinner. A group of us had tea at
Phakdee Bakery cafe, some went for a curry place - there were several of places to choose
from.

The next morning was cool, we had breakfast at Phetsokxai's restaurant and made our way
down to the boat. Phet had put out a number of blankets and quilts - it was very chilly and
foggy. The mist surrounding us was a magical morning - still, the water rippling and the
mountains around us had a purple hue. Our second village stop was at Ban Khok Ek - which is
84.7 kms from Luang Prabang - this was a wealthier village than the one we visited the day
before and the ladies make beautiful handicrafts which they sell. There is a school, a local
still (I tried the Lao Lao - strong whisky moonshine), a small shop, a wat and a village
project was underway. Ban Khok Ek has 80 families with about 400 people. They are Buddhists
and are Lao Loom people. (Lowland Lao). The handcrafts they make include scarfs and bags.
Scarfs are 200 baht. We all bought something. The children came down to the river and waved
us goodbye.

Lunch was just as delicious as the first day's. We had fried chicken wings, a dish which
consisted of meat rolled in paper with a sauce, a vegetable dish and a curry with chicken
and vegetables. Plus there was fresh fruit on both days. There were several large urns
filled with boiling water for tea and coffee. I took quite a liking to the Lao green tea.
Phet showed me how to make it. That was the best tea I've ever tasted. The captain's
name was Mr. Hoomphan and his wife (the cook) was Ms. Vanna. Their son Mr Loan helped out.

We stopped at Pak Ou Caves. Tham Ting (lower cave) is what most people see, but a few more
adventurous types, myself included, slogged it up the very many steps to the upper cave,
Tham Theung, which I thought was rather disappointing, although the sweaty climb more than
made up for the wonderful view across the Mekong.

Soon we were once more on the boat and when we eventually pulled into Luang Prabang, we had
the choice of lugging our luggage up the steep hill ourselves, or for a small fee, have the
young lads do it for us. I willingly paid for this and we then caught a tuk-tuk to our
respective accommodation houses.

I can recommend cruising down the Mekong on the Nagi - going down the Mekong is a wonderful
experience, the river is ever changing and it's very relaxing. It was an awesome trip
and we saw many things - peanut crops, water buffalo, fishing boats, jagged rocks showing
the water levels but best of all was visiting the villages and meeting the people. If I get
the chance to go back to Laos again, I will gladly do the river cruise again. It was well
worth the price - 4,600 baht - $150 AUD.