Sleepy Pak Beng, a photo from Oudomxai, North

Photographer's Note

‘Sleepy Pak Beng’

Pak Beng is a very small town on the Mekong in the west of Laos and especially known among visitors who travel by boat on the Mekong.

It’s located about halfway between Ban Houayxay / Huay Xai (northwestern border town with Thailand) and Luang Prabang.
Many western tourists arrive via Thailand, cross the border in Huay Xai and travel by boat to Luang Prabang, the most visited place in Laos.
This is a two day boat trip. The first day ends in Pak Beng where travellers spend the night in one of the many accommodation options.
The second day the journey continues (in another boat) to Luang Prabang.
Each boat trip lasts 7 to 8 hours.

I arrived in Pak Beng by bus from Oudomxai and only made the second leg of the boat trip.
Just about everyone else in the boat came from Thailand and consequently travelled for two days.
It’s a beautiful trip, but I’m convinced that one day on the Mekong is enough.
The boats are relatively comfortable and can no longer be compared to the transport that visitors used in the 1990s. On the other hand, I fear that anyone who travelled in Laos in the 1990s and now returns will no longer find the country as adventurous (or as charming) as before. Whoever comes for the first time will undoubtedly love it.

Why the title ‘Sleepy Pak Beng’?
I arrived in Pak Beng by bus shortly after noon.
In Pak Beng there are many good budget accommodations and several good restaurants. But in the afternoon there is hardly anyone to see. It looks very empty.
Boat travellers from Thailand do not arrive until late afternoon. The same for those coming from Luang Prabang and making the journey in the opposite direction. In the evening, however there’s a lot of life and the restaurants are full.
The next morning everyone leaves again and Pak Beng is again empty and quiet for the rest of the day.

The banks of the Mekong here usually consist of large boulders and densely forested hills.

Today the long boats of my main picture are the typical 'slowboats' used on the Mekong in Laos.

holmertz, burmaman, Fis2, jhm, ikeharel, COSTANTINO, pierrefonds, PiotrF, jemaflor, whereami, Royaldevon, adramad, ChrisJ, macjake has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

holmertz (92852) 2020-11-20 7:25

Hello Paul,
I don't recall seeing river boats as relatively long, in relation to their width, anywhere. They look rather special but make the view quite exotic. It's obvious this is not the Rhein or the Danube. The exotism is evident in the WS too and it's enhanced by the warm light. In 1973 I also entered Laos via Ban Houaxay (usually spelled differently in those days), but of course going by boat was not an option then.
Best regards,
Gert

dta (98542) 2020-11-20 7:59

Bonjour Paul ,
Belle et intéressante composition avec des couleurs chaudes.
L'endroit semble assez éloigné des hordes de touristes.
Amicalement

burmaman (902) 2020-11-20 8:49

Hello Paul!
Thank you for showing this nice photo. I remember me walking down these stairs and yes, 1 day,about 8 hours on a boat was enough.I have not seen much of Pak Beng because I arrived late, comming from Oudomxai,standing all the time on the footboard of a shared pickup.So I did not see much of Pak Beng.This was in 2005( I had to look at my old passport)And there was nothing except this jetty and a few basic accommodations and restaurants for boattourists.I took the other direction than you and finished in Ban Houayxay crossing the border to Thailand.
I went to Lao again in 2007, exploring the south and in 2018.It is still a very nice country but not very adventurous these days as you mentioned in your good note.
This is a very nice view at the Mekong and the green hills around and one boat floatingdown the river.
Thank you,best regards,Ronny

Fis2 (155625) 2020-11-20 9:17

Witaj Paul!
A very curious place, view makes impression.
Interesting the boats, I like it.
Good framing and colors.
Well done my friend.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

jhm (203003) 2020-11-20 9:31

Goedenavond Paul,

Ik heb veel bewondering hoe hebt gereisd, met autobus, en boottochten, dit een zeer ver land.
Maar uit uw schrijven, leid ik af, dat ook de moderne tijd zijn ingang heeft gevonden, in en om de Mekong rivier.
In ieder geval uw foto is mooi, met diepte en een mooi eindpunt, met de kromming van de rivier.
Ik hoop Paul, dat er nog betere tijden komen, dat u een aansluiting kan maken waar u moeten stoppen bent, door Covid-19.
Heel mooi foto werk, met fijne details.
Prachtig gedaan, bedankt om dit te delen.

Groetjes uit Oost-Vlaanderen,
John

lousat (129957) 2020-11-20 9:33

Hi Paul,interesting notes, so this place lives only in the morning and in the evening, while during the day it is deserted and silent. Definitely a nice adventure, but as you said, one day on the river is enough and advances, after it becomes tiring and monotonous. The photos are as always very comprehensive and of high quality. Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

Silvio1953 (205719) 2020-11-20 9:39

Ciao Paul, great POV on fantastic house boats, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

Tue (82232) 2020-11-20 10:00

Hallo Paul,
Een mooi landschap in een aangenaam en warm zonlicht. De bocht in de rivier en de schuine hellingen aan beide zijden zorgen voor een goede compositie. De lange, smalle boten zijn mooi aan de linkerkant geplaatst en de timing was uitstekend zodat er ook nog net eentje langs komt varen.
Lars

COSTANTINO (104159) 2020-11-20 10:09

Hello dear friend and have a nice day
and happy weekend
original version
these river boats are really
impressive and exotic...
thanks for your useful notes
regards
Costantino

pierrefonds (103537) 2020-11-20 14:50

Bonsoir Paul,

La longueur du fleuve donne de la profondeur à la composition. La prise de vue permet de voir les détails des bateaux et des montagnes. La qualité de la lumière embellit les couleurs de l'image. Bonne soirée.

Pierre

PiotrF (52330) 2020-11-20 15:41

Hello Paul,
A very good serie of photos from small town on the Mekong.I like informative note, good composition, beautiful colours and good sharpness.
Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

jemaflor (135424) 2020-11-20 23:08

Salut Paul,
Intéressante photo à la composition bien équilibrée. Bon effet de profondeur d'image avec la courbe du cours d'eau, bien aussi ces embarcation à gauche et aussi avec celle à droite qui donne une impression de mouvement. Jolie luminosité, c'est idéal pour les teintes, intéressante photo.

emka (152194) 2020-11-20 23:42

Hello Paul, Fantastic view of the Mekong River in Pak Beng. I just went by such a longboat from Thailand to Luang Prabang, in 2oo3. You have inspired me, I show it today. Strange to see it without people.
best regards Malgo

ikeharel (105901) 2020-11-21 0:59

Good morning Paul,
Bright and colorful river scenery on all the three pictures.
Funny they have a siesta when tourists arrive...
Wish you a nice weekend,
Ike

Royaldevon (75378) 2020-11-21 2:18

Hello Paul,

You have a rich variety of photographs from your far east trip but I like to read your notes, too. They go hand-in-hand for a more complete picture.
I like how these long boats are neatly parked at an angle, the way I always like to see car parking slots!
The boat sailing down the river gives us a good impression of the length of these boats. How many passengers do you thing they will hold?
You took this photograph making good use of the light, which is golden in places but there are still good shadow details on the hillside.
I particularly like the photograph with the house boat. It might be my favourite!

Have a good w/e,
Bev :-)

kasianowak (15818) 2020-11-21 9:50

Hi Paul
What a great idea to arrive by bus and have the place to yourself before tourists arrive! These three river views are all different but each of them looks lovely and the colourful long boats are just amazing. Good idea to include a person in the photo for the sense of scale.
Best wishes
Kasia
PS. To answer the question in your last critique - I've only been to one small town outside of the Wakhan Corridor but indeed, lots of women wore burkas (I think the village women that visited the town for shopping etc.) but I also met one who was working in the tourist office (all her colleagues male) and was wearing just a scarf. I was relieved to see that the ladies wearing burkas took them off as soon as they reached the outskirts of town on their way back home:

https://www.trekearth.com/workshops/1578567/photo220395.htm

mkamionka (61226) 2020-11-21 11:25

Hi Paul,
very picturesque spot with the colorful vegetation along the river.
The extraordinary design of the boats.
That must have been a great adventure.
Fantastic reportage,
M

adramad (67000) 2020-11-22 4:53

Hello Paul.
A stop on the way to Luang Prabang, which from what I see in the image, has a beautiful landscape, which I do not know if it allows walks, but relax in the hotel and good dinner, the open boats seem to allow a good view of the landscape .
A great photo, with very good color, very well managed both the lighting and the sharpness.
Well done. I like.
Enjoy, Sunday.
All the best for you.
Luis.

ChrisJ (160008) 2020-11-22 23:15

Hello Paul,

I caught one of these elongated river boats on a daytrip to Pak Ou Caves and its many Buddha statues. Good sharpness & nice to catch one boat gliding down the Mekong river at right. Tfs!

BennyV (32570) 2020-11-24 8:57

Ha, die boten...die lawaaierige motors...de stank van de uitlaat...maar toch hield ik ervan. Helaas gaan ze er geleidelijkaan uit en worden ze meer en meer vervangen door modernere exemplaren of zelfs...bussen!

Benny

macjake (96157) 2020-11-27 5:34

Hi Paul
I like how you say its best seen in one day...its a nice way of saying its too boring over 2 days haha. In one of the WS photos, it gave me the feeling that i'm looking at some logging site or construction site that is just in the beginning stages, not much here to look at. you say the boats are fairly comfortable, I get the feeling there aren't many things to do on these boats, so ya, one day is long enough for me as well. Very interesting note to go along with the shots. excellent TE post as always
cheers
Craig