Slow boat trip

Slow boat travel Yirong First release 2024-6-2017:51 There is a big difference between traveling by car and by plane. In terms of space, one is down to earth and the other is high up in the sky. This time I took a day's car from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, then from Chiang Khong to Huay Xai, Laos, and took a two-day and one-night boat to Luang Prabang. I stayed in Pak Binh for one night in the middle and learned from European and American backpackers. It is said that this itinerary is the "coming of age" for backpackers. It is indeed full of European and American tourists. I am the only Chinese, and I didn't see any Asian faces. It's quite tiring, and all I see on such a trip is tattered. I have been to Laos by plane, and it doesn't seem to be so shabby. The airport is generally OK. I went to the hotel and the scenic spot immediately, and I didn't feel poverty and ruin. It's different when I go by land. I will pass through rural areas, such as Pak Binh, which is still the same as the rural areas in China thirty years ago, including Vientiane. The bus station is shabby and looks like the bus station in a small town thirty years ago. Living at different levels and walking in different ways, the feelings of the same place are completely different. I wanted to stop in Vientiane and fly back to Chiang Mai directly, but I thought about it and insisted on staying one more night in Sanjiang. Sanjiang is full of Chinese people. It doesn’t feel like Laos. It is exactly like a small town in China before the reform and opening up. Many people have written about it, so I won’t repeat it. Today I took the train to Khon Kaen and took a taxi to the bus station. The guide on the Internet said that there is a bus at 9 o'clock in the evening, and there are only three buses a day. I finally found No. 3, but it wasn't. I asked a security guard to take me to No. 1 and find the Sukhothai window. There was no one inside. It also said the 9.00 and 10.00 trains. There were no tickets for today online. The security guard told me to wait here. I looked around and saw that no one would come. Suddenly I saw that the security guard hadn't left. He found the window again and called the phone above but no one answered. He asked the next door and said that there was a table next to the front that bought tickets for Sukhothai. The security guard took me over and asked and it turned out to be true. I bought a 4.30 ticket. It was already 4.26. I said I was going to the toilet. After that, I wanted to find a store to buy water and drinks, but I didn't see it. I hid in the corner to smoke a cigarette. After a few puffs, the ticket seller came and followed him to the car and asked me to put out the cigarette. I wanted to buy water again, but the driver wouldn't let me. Today was miserable. It would be better to stay in Khon Kaen for one night. I thought there might not be tickets today. If there were, it would be at 9 or 10 o'clock, so I could eat and buy things. I didn't expect that there would be tickets at 4.30 and it was very empty. I had no choice but to go there first. When I got on the bus, I wondered if it would stop halfway. If not, would I get off at Phitsanulok to stay? I didn't expect that they would start distributing water and snacks. Save them. I read a lot of guides for this trip, but there were many mistakes. Everyone's experience is different, and there is no official statement. For example, whether it is necessary to pay 400 baht to exit Chiang Khong, I paid it. For example, the exit tip of 10,000 old currency in Vientiane was also charged. I didn't find the entry form for filling out and copying the passport entry form in Nong Khai, and I asked that it was no longer required. #trip