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That of slow boats and that of fast trains are two experiences centuries away that can still be experienced in Laos in 2025.
It is possible to be shot at full speed on one of the brand new fast trains that cross the jungle. But you can also glide on the placid rivers that run through the same jungle in slow boats as they have always done. Although they obviously run on motors now, some boats are still slow.
The fast trains built by China
Until recently, excluding airplanes, the fastest way to travel to Laos was via modern, convenient buses. It used to take up to 11 hours from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, though. This is what you could still read in my famous and very bad paper guidebook still on the market.
China in a very short time built a new and modern railway network from scratch. Now you can make the same journey in 2.20 hours! I dread to think of the environmental impact of this work and the safety for the workers who deforested and pierced jungle and mountains.
Rightly, Laotians are very proud of the new fast trains and their railroad that they never had and that brings them so much business and tourists. The stations are like cathedrals in the desert, majestic and in the middle of isolated areas. To get in is like when you go to the airport; both in the station and on the trains with scrupulous checks by elegant hostesses.
Calm down and breathe deeply
But there remain a few aspects filled with the kind of pressapochism typical of a country where things do not always go as they should.
- you wait for a cab to arrive an hour earlier
- You wait for a cab that never comes and no one knows the service you have already paid for
- they tell you that you leave at one hour and instead you leave 2 hours later
- you get on one shuttle, and they move you to 2 others before you leave
- you wonder if it is a choice to slow down traffic to leave craters in the middle of major roads
- I no longer trust improvised bridges made with reeds in the forest
In these countries you have to be very serene, always; have a plan b; and not be too tight with the timing if you have coincidences.
To a friend who asked me how she was doing, I wrote to her on the air.
I am in a minibus for a journey of at least four hours on a road full of potholes. To the side a Laotian has been arguing (yelling) on the phone for 20 minutes. It is not really a harmonious language. I think it is a type of torture prohibited by the Geneva Convention.
The slow boats
There were 2 things that I felt were unmissable on a trip to Laos. One was to visit the Plain of Jars, and the other was to take a river trip on what are called slow boats to distinguish them from speedboats, which are too modern.
As confirmed to me by multiple sources, the Plain of Jars is too far away and with the days I had it would not have been worth it to get there.
As for slowboats (slow boats), I had thought of doing part of a route that many people do along the Mekong River and that leads from Luang Prabang to Thailand (or vice versa). The trip takes two days and it had seemed like a good idea to arrive halfway as everyone does (the village of
I had read epic stories online about the ‘experience in these slow, uncomfortable and crowded boats from which to enjoy a privileged view of the wilderness and mingle with other travelers. Basically a little world apart for 8/9 hours of sailing.
According to my sources, it was convenient not to make reservations and go directly to the port, which was right behind the royal palace in Luang Prabang, so it was a 5-minute walk from my accommodation.
I improvise and choose the Ou River with one of the slow boats
Too bad there was no trace of the port, and on the site, besides various solutions for nearby tours (which I then did on the last day), the proposals were extra luxurious and therefore too far removed from the authenticity of that experience.
I stopped at the riverfront and searched the net and found a referral for an agency that was 70 meters away from me. I trusted and accepted what was proposed. That is, to do yes an excursion on the river, but from a different side and a tour all to myself. The next day they picked me up from my hotel and with a car transfer we arrived past the second dam (also Chinese) that made the first portion of the Nam Ou River no longer navigable.
With my young captain and his thin little boat, we sailed through a verdant landscape surrounded by mountains. I felt like Captain Willard going after Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in Apocalypse Now.
The legendary film is set in Cambodia, like Laos, the scene of the secret war that was officially fought only in Vietnam. The landscapes are the same, as can be seen in this link , to compare with this video shot by me.
Where fast trains seem impossible
I did not run into gunfights, naked weasels and warlords. On the contrary; after two hours of absolute peace we docked at the dock of a restaurant in Nong Khiaw. A small village in the middle of the forest, surrounded by spectacular green mountains.
In hindsight I should have stayed at least a couple of nights. From there various nature hikes depart. With the little time I had, I did one on my own, passing through a village in the forest and with landscapes that were unusual and lush to me. I made it as far as an unreassuring little bridge, at least from my past experiences in the Thai forest. I went back anyway satisfied anticipating a pleasant evening, but it went as I wrote in the second chapter of this trip.
Home trip Travel to Laos and Cambodia with inadequate guide
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