The Luang Say boat leaves Houei Sai pier at 9.30am (please be at Lao immigration office no later than 8.30) for a cruise down the Mekong River to Pakbeng.

After completing Thai immigration formalities, our Luang Say representative will help you get a shuttle bus to cross the bridge and go to Lao immigration.

Our Luangsay staff in Houei Say (Houayxay) will then welcome you to Laos and help with Lao immigration formalities.

(You can check the frequently asked questions for more specific details)

We will then transfer everyone to the Luangsay cruise boat, which is parked at the slow boat pier in Houei Say (about 1 kilometer out of the town center). Every slow boat docks here from huge dirty Chinese cargo boats, to small cross-river ferries, to long low-slung Lao passenger boats and many more.

The Luang Say boat leaves Houei Sai pier at 9.30am (please be at Lao immigration office no later than 8.30) for a cruise down the Mekong River to Pakbeng.

A few hours from Houei Say (Thai Border), we will stop and visit the ethnic village, Ban Gon Dturn. At this point in the Mekong there are a number of shallow rapids, the Lao words for which (Gon Dturn) give its meaning to the villages name. The inhabitants are Tai Lue tribe people, who originally came from the Yunnan area of China around 300 years ago, fleeing persecution. They can now be found in the northern Lao provinces of Bokeo, Luang Nam Tha, Phongsaly, Luang Prabang and Sayabouly. The Tai Lue traditionally live in the valleys and low, flat lands. There are 180 households in this village, encompassing 850 people.

Houses in a Tai Lue village are traditionally on stilts, and the ground under the houses is used to store tools, firewood and weaving. Upstairs consists of a large balcony used as a living room and guest bedroom. The inside of the house is not divided into smaller rooms, but remains as one large dormitory style sleeping quarters, with an area for cooking in one corner. The houses have small windows and a twin-peaked roof. They face the river as this is considered to be good luck.

Agriculture forms the main occupation of the men in the village, whether tending rice fields or planting other crops. Produce not required for village consumption is sold to merchants who pass by on the river. Tai Lue women specialise in weaving, much of the cotton and indigo dyes they use are cultivated in the village itself. Silk is imported from other provinces. They too sell their cloth to the passing boat traders. It is also the women responsibility to look after the family. Nearby villages in the region trade products with each other and communicate news, through regular visits.

Men wear blue or black clothing, and a scarf on their head. Their bodies are often covered with tattoos. These important designs are for personal protection from spirits and natural afflictions and are considered very manly and attractive to Tai Lue women. The women wear a Lao style sinh, or long skirt, usually made by the women who wear them.

“Baw village” is located on the Mekong River between Luang Prabang and Pakbeng. Ban Baw is a very old village. For over 600 years the village has held three different ethnicities: Lao Loum (the ethnic majority in Laos), Tai Lue and Shan, but these days the majority are Lao Loum. The population of 450 live in 45 house holds.

Shan people came to Ban Baw as refugees from Burma. Since arriving in Laos, many of the Shan people have left via the Mekong River to Thailand. Those that remained have learnt to integrate with the Lao and their customs, believing currently in a mix of Buddhism and Animism (spirit worship). Nowadays, the three tribes live together in harmony as family and have developed similar customs to each other, wearing indistinguishable clothing and celebrating events such as weddings in the same fashion.