Speedboat dock, Mekong River, 7 hours speedboat ride from Luang Prabang. The boy is depositing a several-inch-thick stack of Lao 10,000 kip notes, a bankroll sufficient to purchase boat fuel for the trip.

The route to Luang Prabang for many tourists involves a ride in a speedboat, which the Lonely Planet says readers have compared to riding a runaway chainsaw, an extremely apt comparison in my opinion. The boats have a prop-blade like a milkshake blender that sticks about six feet straight back, and the blast from the motor is deafening.


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