After an eventful first month in Thailand, we were looking to get away from the bombs in Khon Kaen for a little R&R. Fortunately, an opportunity presented itself. Charlie’s friend has a houseboat in Lampang, about 2 hours outside of Chiang Mai, and we had an invitation to board.I was itching to see Chiang Mai anyways, so we figured we’d make a trip out of it. We headed to the bus station and booked our tickets (you can read more about our travel from Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai here).
Houseboating in Lampang
We boarded the mini-buses at 9 am along with about 20 others and headed for Lampang. The drive was about two hours and I didn’t mind it one bit – no roaches! We pull up to the dam where we boarded the boat and everyone was immediately in awe. After being in the city for the past month, escaping into Thailand’s natural beauty was a breath of fresh air. The temperature was about 75 and the weather could not have been more perfect.
The houseboat was recently completely renovated and it was immaculate. The wood floors were all refinished and were so smooth you could literally just slide across them. There was a covered deck where you could escape on second floor – good for napping – and a separate deck that was uncovered and perfect for sunbathing. Immediately the staff began serving cold drinks – coke, beer, wine and water – and the mingling began. It was quite a diverse group of people, ranging between 27 and about 65 (us being the youngest of course) from Thailand, America, Belgium, Germany and Serbia.
We set sail and made a quick stop at the fish farm to pick up some fresh fish. About an hour into the trip, surrounded by nothing and nobody except water and mountains, lunch was served. Me being the finicky one, I was worried they might be serving something funky I wouldn’t like so I took very small portions. They were serving a green curry chicken, a red curry pork and vegetarian dish over rice. I went with the chicken and pork – I need my protein! I should have taken much larger portions because not only did I like the food, but I LOVED it. It was definitely on the top of the list for the best Thai food I’ve had. The red curry pork was almost like a BBQ pork, which of course means amazing. The green curry was the perfect amount of flavor and spice. Charlie, of course, had about 3 helpings and I was helping him out every bit of the way.
After about 3 hours, we reached the cliffs where we stopped to swim. Unfortunately, we were a little behind on time at this point so we only had about 10 minutes. About 5 passengers jumped in the water, and 1 adventurous one decided to take part in the cliff diving.
We started to make our way back, and round 2 of lunch was served – the fresh fish we picked up in the beginning of the trip. Everyone was raving about it and made me, the non fish eater, try a bite. I was pleasantly surprised. It was not fishy at all and very tasty. However, I am still having a hard time getting past the idea of being served a whole fish, so about 1 bite was all I could really handle. Luckily, the next round of food came – farang food! I filled up quickly on chicken wings and french fries. Actually I think the fries were the biggest hit. The Thais have the french “fried” situation under control. And yes…they call them french “fried”.
We made it back to the dam by 4:30 pm and headed for Chiang Mai. It was officially nap-time on the mini-bus – exhausted from boating and the free flow of food and drinks all day. What can I say? Its a rough life 😉
We are Brittany and Charlie - we traded the 9 to 5 and the so-called "American dream" to live our own dream and see the world. We sold all of our belongings and left the US in August 2013. For 5 years, we lived primarily in Thailand and built our online business and location independent lifestyle while we traveled to over 30 countries. We’ve had house sitting gigs on 3 different continents and we’ve even appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International.
Hi Charlie and Brittany. The houseboat trip looks great fun and the scenery is beautiful. We are actually in Chiang Mai at the moment and looking for “alternative” days out. Is this something that anyone can do as a day trip? Or was it a personal/private thing put on as you knew the owner? Thanks
Apologies for the delayed response! We may be too late now, but when we were there, there were several other house boat operators in Lampang that offered the same sort of tour. Unfortunately, the one we were on no longer operates. I would check with some of the tour companies around Chiang Mai. They should have some information! Hope you are enjoying CM 🙂 Eat some khao soi for us!!
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