Travel & Culture

What to Expect on a Lovely Cruise Down the Mekong River

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I’ve been to several cruises but mostly on a yacht .  Most of them last for at least two-three hours. In the said cruise what we did was to sail in the middle of the ocean and then eat, drink , party, then back to the port area. It was such a great experience to go on a cruise boat with real stops destinations in mind.  This is what I experienced when I cruised down the the world’s 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia, the Mekong River.

The Mekong River also known as the Greater Mekong Subregion covers 2.6 million square kilometers and surpases 6 different countries: Cambodia, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province in China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. For our multi-country Mekong fam tour we landed on two countries, Thailand and Laos and we boarded the Mekong River cruise that lasted for eight (8) hours with two stops: a visit of a traditional village of hill tribe in Baw and the Caves of 1,000 Buddha.

Mekong River Cruise

How can one avail of a Mekong River tour like the one I had?
Mekong Cruise / the Luangsay Resort offers packages for a cruise like the one we had.  It includes 2 days and 1 night stay at the resort that includes the cruise along the Mekong River with the stops at the village in Lao and the Pak Oiu Cave of a thousand Buddah.  Off-peak rates is US$400 up to US$700 during peak season. They operated Monday, Friday during low season (April until September except June – non operation) and Monday, Thursday, Friday during High Season (November –March and October).  Cruise package includes lunch and snacks.  Stay at the resort includes breakfast.

They also have a reverse trip which is from Luang Prabang to Houeisay, called cruise Up and it is available on Wednesday/Saturday during low season, add Tuesday during high season. You may visit mekong-cruises.com or luangsay.com for more information on booking the Up and Down Mekong River Cruises

How to get there?
We did the most unconventional way of going about the cruise.  We went by land and cross the border of Banhuaykon Border Nan, Thailand to Pak Beng District in Laos.  Until we arrived at the Luangsay Resort where our Mekong River cruise started.

Luangsay Resort / Luangsay Residences

Can you start the cruise from the airport or from the resort and not cross borders like we did?
Yes, like I mentioned above there is a cruise both ways which is what they call cruise up or cruise down. Airport transfers to the port area or hotel can be arranged. Meanwhile Thai Air Asia has two flights going to and from Bangkok International Airport (DMK) to Luang Prabang International Airport (LPQ) .

Why would you want to go on a Mekong River tour?
If you want to do something out of the regular travel experience you have , like maybe going to the beach and trekking, this is something you may want to try. You will get to learn about culture and history and the way of living of the locals who live by the riverside.  Having such experience broadens your view in life and gives you a different perspective with your own way of life.  Aside from the cultural experience the scenic view along the river as you cruise is very calming and invigorating.  The fact that there’s no telecommunication signal while on the cruise gives you that internet/social media detox you need and should have once in awhile.  The Mekong River cruise we had is about 8 hours total. We started at 8:30am from Luangsay Resort at Pak Beng Laos and ended the cruise at Luang Prabang  around 5pm.  We had two stops that took about less than an hour each stops.  One stop was at a small village 2 hours away from Pak Beng,  the next stop is to the Pak Oiu Cave whch is 2 hours from that village.  Then to Luang Prabang is also about 2 hours.

Traditional Riverside Laotian Village

Mekong River Cruise Traditional Riverside Laotian Village

Mekong River Cruise Traditional Riverside Laotian Village

With Laotian kids selling weaved bracelets to tourist visiting their village
With Laotian kids selling weaved bracelets to tourist visiting their village

 

Cave of a thousand Buddha (Pak Oiu Cave)

Mekong River Cruise Cave of a thousand Buddha Pak Oiu Cave

Cave of a thousand Buddha Pak Oiu Cave

Cave of a thousand Buddha Pak Oiu Cave
The cave used to be exclusively for the Royal family of Laos but some optical thing happened in Lao and the Royal family was put in exhile. The cave became a sacred place for Laotian people where they bring their Buddha for offering and prayers that is why it reached thousands. As of last count it’s almost 5,000 Buddha as even tourist bring Buddha into the cave.

 

Please visit www.mekongtourism.orgto know more about the tours, business or any other activities you might have in mind or follow their social media @TourismMekong. They are also on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mekong-tourism.

Mekong River Cruise
I was in this tour with fellow bloggers and journalist from different parts of the world as invited by the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office.

 

Stay gorgeous everyone!

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2 Comments

  1. Thank you Gellie for stopping by, I miss you! I hope to see you again soon and catch up a bit! This will be a nice place for you to go on a Honeymoon and straight to Luang Prabang, I love it there, very chill , I will post about it soon!

  2. Earth! Thanks for sharing your trip here. Been looking at other places to visit with the fiance particularly Asia or South East Asia para medyo matipid pero worth it dapat. I prefer trips and travels that will help me get to know the culture most. Hindi pa ako strong enough to handle hikes (but adventurous enough to do a cliff jump like what I did this summer).

    Anyway, just dropping by to see what’s new in your blog. Been super busy at work for the last few months na I wasn’t able to visit and check out the blogs I follow. Glad to be back here! 🙂