We went hours early to the pier to get seats for the slow boat that leaves at noon everyday. One ticket to Luang Prabang costs 220 000 Laotian kip which is $36.47 CAD and takes about 5 hours the first day and 7 hours the second day. The tickets were pretty expensive for us to spend on transport but since the slow boat was an experience in itself, travelling through the jungle of Laos, we thought it was worth it. It is also a safer alternative to the speed boats that take 3 hours where fatal accidents are not uncommon. We arrived in the small jungle village of Pak Beng at about 5:30pm to stay the night. Being the halfway point for the slow boats is a huge advantage for Pak Beng as it brings in lots of money from the tourists. A surprising fact about Lao is that 75% of its population, which is 6.7 million, live in jungle villages like Pak Beng.
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