| Down The Mekong |
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| Loading up at Jinghong port |
| On our way at last! |
| Accomodation on board is basic but clean - karaoke anyone? |
| Sleeping quarters |
| Outside on the lower deck |
| Watch your step! |
| We stopped overnight at the China border |
| EARLY in the morning we were awakened to go up and stamp our passports. Then Chinese officials came on board to inspect the boats. You can see all the crew being very attentive and respectful. |
| Typical scenery along the way - Laos on one side, Burma on the other. |
| Just north of the Thai border, there is a fuel depot on the Laos side where the boats seem to routinely fuel up (fuel no doubt transported from China). |
| Depending on which way you are going, this is your first/last glimpse of Thailand. The large golden Buddha at the Golden Triangle. It was still being built when we did the trip. |
| Arriving in Chiang Saen at sunset, hopeful to land before the immigration office closes - in fact we just barely made it. Hello Thailand! |
| More Boat Info (last updated July 2007) |
| The Chinese government stopped allowing tourists to use cargo boat transport along this route in late 2006. There are, however, at least a couple options for taking a "tourist" boat between Chiang Saen (near the Golden Triangle) and Jinghong (in southern Yunnan, China). The option I am most familiar with is easily booked at Gin's Guesthouse in Chiang Saen. "Juree" (Gin's wife) has all the information and tickets for this boat service. You can see a copy of their flyer below, as well as a few pictures of the typical style of boat. In addition to the guesthouse, they have an office right next to the Chiang Saen bus station. The guesthouse is about 2km away, toward the Golden Triangle. Boats to China usually leave Chiang Saen on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the cost is 4000 Baht. You will need to obtain a Chinese visa in advance at the Embassy in Bangkok or the Consulate in Chiang Mai. This usually takes 2-3 days and costs 1100 Baht for most nationalities (Americans pay approximately double). You can get the visa faster by paying more money. You need to get to Gin's before 6PM the preceding day in order to get stamped out of Thailand because the boat leaves at 5AM, before the customs and immigration office opens. They leave early in order to reach Jinghong the same day - typically about 8PM. |
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| Hello Juree! |
| Gin's Guesthouse |
| Pictures of the boat (sorry this is all I could get for now) |
| Gin's Information Flyer - see phone numbers for contact. |
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| I also occassionally see boats like this in Chiang Saen. This particular one was flying a banner advertising the website www.maekhongtravel.com This looks more like a "cruise boat" unlike the "just transport" option from Gin's. This boat is set up for sleeping options and their website only advertises multi-day packages and mentions nothing about direct service to Jinghong. Anyway a boat like this is too slow to make it in one day. |
| We spent 2 days floating down the Mekong between Jinghong and Chiang Saen in Thailand, on a cargo boat loaded with apples and pears. This sort of boat is now unfortunately off-limits to foreigners. See the bottom of this page for an update. |