This involved quite a lot more travel than we had initially anticipated, given that our hotel owner told us there was a direct bus that would only take 3 hours to get there!Well ... it turns out this bus route is the retirement option for an elderly, smiling driver who spent as much time driving a he did shopping for fruit and veges, visiting friends, and restaurant stops!
Nonetheless we were pretty happy sheltered in the bus from the rain outside, and got to enjoy the phenomenal scenery at a slower pace - the river and surrounding mountains had a very mystic feel as they bathed in pools of mist.
Our bus deposited us in Pak Chom, where things went from slow to lethargic, and in the wrong direction. From Pak Chom it's supposed to be 40km away, but after travelling in a sawngthaew (public open air pickup truck) for over an hour we were dropped at an intersection, leaving us still 20km from Chiang Khan! The driver then tried to charge us double for half the distance, but we stood our ground and paid the same as everyone else.We did eventually arrive at the shadowy banks of the Mekong in Chiang Khan, and quickly scurried around in search of a riverside bedroom and balcony to occupy us for a few days in this sleepy riverside village.
Adlibing it from Mekong Town to Mekong Village.
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