Cruise on the Mekong River, Laos

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RooFlyer

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I'm not sure about recounting old trips here, but a comment made on another thread reminded me of this part of a month long trip through SE Asia I did 2 years ago. That's far too long to do here, so I thought I'd just recount the Mekong Cruise part, which stands out as one of the best things I have ever done, and its a nice compact trip, easily do-able ex Australia in 5 days.

Now, I am most definitely not a cruise person - big or small vessels. I like doing stuff when away, not just 'relaxing'. but my friends really wanted to do this, so I went along. Loved it! Even survived being out of wi fi contact for most of the time. :shock:
I'm writing this because I'd like readers to really consider this cruise. Shouldn't be disappointed: Vat Phou

We travelled from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Pakse, Laos via Lao Air ATR 72. Now, I specified to the Travel Agent "Absolutely no 'dodgy air' ", but there was no choice at all, so this was going to be a white knuckle affair for me. Now, a Lao Air ATR 72 did crash into the Mekong at Pakse a year later, killing 49 including I think 6 Australians, so maybe my apprehension was well placed.

But the 1 hour flight was fine. We left Siem Reap half an hour early (there were no forecast of this - they just called for boarding early!). The plane seemed near new and was only half full.

Overnight at the Pakse Hotel. Not bad, but the beds were incredibly hard. Nice open-air rooftop restaurant.

And so to the cruise.

We were met in the town and taken with our luggage to the waterside, where we got on an approx. 20 seater motorized longboat for a 1 hour trip to where the cruise boat was. Our bags went ahead.

We then met the cruise boat and what a wonderful sight it was:

Mekong Cruise boat x.jpg

I think it had a capacity of 24, in 12 twin cabins on the lower deck (from memory). Each cabin had an en-suite with shower (tiny, but functional) and was air-conditioned at night. There's a dining room at the rear lower deck, where the evening meals were taken, also the kitchens and staff accommodation. On our cruise I think there were only about 9 pax in total (5 x Aussies in our party, 2 x French, 2 X English), with possibly 15 staff. The staff went around in slippers and were superb in absolutely every regard!

The highlight of the boat is the upper deck, which was 2/3 for pax relaxation, the rest being wheelhouse, loos and of course the bar.


Mekong Cruise upper deck y.jpg

Mekong Cruise upper deck x.jpg


The rear deck was where breakfasts and lunches were served. Can't beat fresh fruits, croissants etc on that deck, in the cool of the morning, watching the world glide by!


Mekong Cruise rear deck.jpg


And if you are the type of person who finds it hard to relax, just take a gander at this disgraceful sight:


Mekong Cruise The Sleeper.JPG
 
Love it!
Thanks for the pics. I hope there's more...
 
Thanks, certainly whets the appetite... we have been contemplating something similar

I'd be keen to read more about your trip if you feel inclined to post it.

Regards
 
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Lets call this post "Dawn on the Mekong".

Try as I might to sleep in, I couldn't and was up at dawn most days. Every night we would 'simply' (I am sure it took a lot of skill) nudge in against the bank of the river, in a quiet area and moor via ropes attached to posts in the bank. It was December and the river was fairly 'low'. Notice how the locals use this space, by terracing the banks and planting vegetables there.


Mekong dawn 2.jpg

But when I say the river was 'low', don't forget how bloody big this river is, and it does still flow pretty quick in parts!


Mekong dawn 3.JPG

A great thing while waiting for the boat to wake up was to see the activity on and by the river. This kid spent an hour dutifully watering the vegetables on the terraces, and the fishing boats naturally made an early start.


Mekong dawn 4.jpg

Obligatory dawn pic, and on board it was all peace and quiet, although as soon as I appeared, one of the staff popped up and offered coffee :D

Mekong dawn 1.JPG
 
Great photos, did you manage to get any fishing in? I have seen documentaries of some monster fish caught in that river system
 
Please keep up the report. I am booking my flights for March 2015 today!
 
Great photos, did you manage to get any fishing in? I have seen documentaries of some monster fish caught in that river system

Actually, never crossed my mind, or my friends who are all keen fishermen. I guess we might have put a line over the side in the evening and mornings, but never occurred to us.
 
Please keep up the report. I am booking my flights for March 2015 today!

If you intend to do this exact cruise, then here are some facts/opinions on the mechanics.

When we did it, you could either cruise upstream or downstream. We chose downstream, as we figured the engine would be used less and it'd be more serene. Can't give any comparison, but the motor engine noise never was an issue for us.

If any of your party has mobility issues, then there are a couple of points which might cause an issue. That said, there was one elderly lady amongst our group and we helped her and it was OK. For instance, there are a couple of short transports in small boats where to dis-embark you have to maneuver to stand upright in the boat, then climb over the gunwale and onto a narrow, floating 'dock' (actually a big log by the water). It was undignified rather than very difficult for the lady and she didn't mind a bit (I think). I'll also post a pic later of how we get off the boat at a beach.

The cabins are tiny and you have your luggage with you in there. A very tight squeeze, but you don't want to be there except to sleep. Aircon on during the night and the bathroom is tiny but with shower, toilet and basin, and bottled water supplied.

There are a number of land walks, so take 'comfortable shoes'.

Drinks (wines, spirits, beers) are by cash purchase. NO credit cards (they may have them now?). Take Lao cash.

Tipping. Not compulsory of course, but they suggest a tip into the communal box at the end if you are so minded. I had no hesitation in putting my contribution in, but the amount? I know we (the pax) talked about it but I don't remember any 'agreed' tenor. I don't remember how much I left but I think it was generous (a proportion of the total trip cost) and can only hope it reached the right place. The staff were numerous and terrific.

No internet when we went (end of 2011) and I hope its still not there. Most relaxing to know that its pointless even to check. There were a couple of big-ish settlements along the way and I guess if you absolutely had to be in contact, you might get occasional 3G data on a local network.

You are separated from your bags at the start (they zoom ahead to the big boat, pax take a different longboat), so if you are nervous, lock it but I'd be staggered if there was a problem there (it'd be so obvious).
 
So to the cruise proper.

It starts at Pakse, a reasonably large town to city of about 80,000 people according to Wikipedia, and its airport serves Vientiane, Siem reap, Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok. From there, we got a motorized 'longtail' boat for 2.5 hrs (not 1 as I said earlier), to Champasak where the cruise boat was.

Pakse is larger and more urban (read traffic congested) than these pics suggest. The bridge was mainly financed by the Japanese and is only one of five bridges over the Mekong in Laos.


Pakse.JPG

As we went down the river we got used to these sorts of sights, but mainly there were just villages and bush along the river.


Riverside.JPG

We had lunch on the boat, and then got into the luxury surface transport for a short but extremely bumpy ride to the Vat Phou temple, the most significant temple complex of the trip. There is a small museum there but the main attraction are the temples which are approached by a grand promenade.


Vat Phou transport.JPG

There is a lower temple complex, and an upper one and they date from about the 11th Century, although the site dates back to about the 5th Century. By the end of our trip through Cambodia and Laos, we did have a reasonable handle on the various kingdoms, rulers and eras, but I'm afraid I've forgotten most of it, so won't try to impress by reeling off who built what on this trip. But the temples were uniformly solidly built, and easy to see why they have lasted, albeit mostly in some state of 'ruin'.

To the left below are the lower temples. Then its a bit of a hike to the upper temples. Yes, these are the actual steps (or rather, the first set). Many people decided the view from the base was better.


Vat Phou lower.jpg

Had they been able to make the climb they would have changed their mind ... (But crikey we were scoffing down our water)


Vat Phou panorama from upper temple.jpg
 
The Upper temples are small, but were obviously the scene of a higher level of devotion. The main buildings were again solidly built so have defied neglect as much as they can.

VP Upper 1.jpg


The temple still houses a Buddha and we began our own wonder at the carvings.

VP Upper 2.jpg


As I mentioned, during our extended trip, we did learn how to interpret the types of carvings around the area (eg Angkor Wat) and that did make our enjoyment of them much greater, but here I'll just let you admire the skill in carving and the beauty of the display.

VP Upper 3.jpg

VP Upper 4.jpg


Around the temple there were a number of features carved into the rocks. The alligator left and rippled rock right our guidebook said were related to human sacrifice.

VP Upper 5.jpg
 
We really enjoyed Angkor and surrounding area....did you get a chance to visit Luang Prabang?
 
We really enjoyed Angkor and surrounding area....did you get a chance to visit Luang Prabang?

Yes; our full itinerary (which I decided not to post as it took 3 weeks and I'd be posting forever) was

3 days in Singapore (Atrium Hotel)
3 days in Siem Reap (FCC Angkor Hotel :D );
5 days in Pakse and on the cruise, including excursion up to the Bolivan Plateau
3 days at Luang Prabang (3 Nagas Hotel :D :D )
3 days at Ho Chi Minh City (Sofitel :D )...
and a day each transiting between them.

And I think Luang Prabang was almost the favourite, although the very whole lot was fantastic.
 
The evening meals on the cruise were superb and were taken in the dining room at the rear of the boat. No pictures, I'm sorry but they were traditional Lao and I believe some Vietnamese dishes. I really wish I did have the camera out because they were presented beautifully as well.

On day 2 the stop was at the Oum Muong temple. This necessitated a disembarkation on a beach:

Boat.JPG

The once criticism I would make of the cruise overall is getting on and off the boat, and the several smaller boats that were used. It was always a bit awkward, but no problem for a reasonably mobile person, but several times there were small jumps to be made, or clambering over the side of boats onto rickety, um, wharves (logs, small timber structures etc). I don't count the above dis-embarkation as one of the more difficult. We had one senior lady who needed assistance several times, which was freely offered by the staff and her fellow travelers, but there never seemed any attempt to make the dis-embarkations easier or taking into account of this lady's situation. If some-one needed a walking stick for instance, there were several activities which would be very challenging. We didn't see any warning of this when we were booking.

The Oum Muong temple is a 'Indiana Jones' type of affair - in the jungle some way off the river, quite rundown and mostly overgrown.

Oum Muong buildings.jpg


Actually the buildings were not that interesting for me, but there were a number of Naga carvings around. Nagas are found throughout Laos and Cambodia (and much farther afield of course) and they are usually fascinating to study. See the Wikipedia link for more info on Nagas.


Oum Muong nagas.jpg

Oum Muong nagas 2.jpg

Overall, this day was mostly about a quiet cruise and that was great. There was a short other excursion ashore, where we walked through the Ban Deua Tia village to observe 'traditional village life'. I think I've said elsewhere that I'm not a fan of 'opportunities to observe the natives'; I think its a bit undignified for the locals.

Towards the end of the day we approached the '4,000 islands' area, where the Mekong narrows and divides through a myriad of islands, becomes the "Niagara of the East' :shock: before it runs south into Cambodia.
 
What an interesting trip. Also great photos
 
Thanks for posting. It's a part of the world I am yet to see but definitely keen to.
 
Thanks for posting. It's a part of the world I am yet to see but definitely keen to.

Actually, it wasn't high on my list of regions to see, but my friends convinced me and now I'm so glad I went. I'd like to go back to Cambodia, but I've currently got the eastern Europe bug, so that was the last major trip, and will be the next one too.
 
Yes; our full itinerary (which I decided not to post as it took 3 weeks and I'd be posting forever) was

3 days in Singapore (Atrium Hotel)
3 days in Siem Reap (FCC Angkor Hotel :D );
5 days in Pakse and on the cruise, including excursion up to the Bolivan Plateau
3 days at Luang Prabang (3 Nagas Hotel :D :D )
3 days at Ho Chi Minh City (Sofitel :D )...
and a day each transiting between them.

And I think Luang Prabang was almost the favourite, although the very whole lot was fantastic.

Lovely TR! Luang Prabang is a beautiful place...
 
We travelled from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Pakse, Laos via Lao Air ATR 72. Now, I specified to the Travel Agent "Absolutely no 'dodgy air' ", but there was no choice at all, so this was going to be a white knuckle affair for me. Now, a Lao Air ATR 72 did crash into the Mekong at Pakse a year later, killing 49 including I think 6 Australians, so maybe my apprehension was well placed.

Your TR got me thinking about how we travelled to and from Cambodia...

We booked this....

Flight

Tue 12 Aug 2008 at 3:10pmDepart from BANGKOK
Tue 12 Aug 2008 at 4:30pmArrive at SIEM REAP
Flight No: PG913
Status: Confirmed
Class: Y - Economy Class
Airline: BANGKOK AIRWAYS
Airline Ref:
Stopovers: NON-STOP
Aircraft: AIRBUS A320

But found ourselves on this....

Bangkok & Siam Reap Aug 2008 095.jpg

Bangkok & Siam Reap Aug 2008 098_2.jpg


Less than 4 months later the airline Siam Reap Air ceased to exists!

Siem Reap Airways International - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


"This airline appeared on the European Union list of prohibited carriers and is therefore banned from operating services of any kind within any E.U. nations. This is due to unacceptable safety standards.[SUP][3][/SUP]As of 1 December 2008, the airline sought clarification with the European Union about the ban.[SUP][4][/SUP] The airline ceased operations from 1 December 2008."

I wonder where this ATR ended up? We (my family of wife and 2 kids) flew out of Siam Reap on VN to Hanoi.....
 
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