Luang Prabang ferries to cross Mekong River too slow
 
Tour operators and tourists are complaining about the speed of ferries  across the Mekong River, Luang Prabang province, the point between the  town of Luang Prabang City and Chomphet district that carry both  passengers and vehicles.

A team of Lao and Chinese journalists take pictures with  elephants at the Green Jungle Park-Hoi Khua Waterfall.

 Some Lao and Chinese reporters recently travelled to the province to  report on the readiness to receive tourists in Luang Prabang. The tour  was organised by the Tourism Marketing Department.
 The owner of Green Jungle Park-Hoi Khua Waterfall, Mr Akhom  Phommahanh, spoke to the reporters about improving the speed of the  ferry service on the route.
 “The slow service is a waste of time for visitors. And some tourists  do not have much time left to explore,” Mr Akhom Phommahanh said.
 The main ferry departs from a point near Xiengthong Temple, which is  located close to the riverbank.
 But the team of Lao and Chinese journalists used these ferries to cross  the river from the town of Luang Prabang to head to Chomphet district  to visit the Green Jungle Park-Hoi Khua Waterfall, and noticed that  sometimes there is a long queue of cars waiting to board the ferry.
 The reason for this was the availability of just one ferry service.
 Often there is a long queue of cars waiting to board the ferry to  cross the river. Sometimes there are two ferries available for the  vehicles. That’s good, but sometimes there aren’t enough vehicles to  fill up the two ferries. The ferry driver has to wait for more cars  before it proceeds on its journey.
 In fact, ferries are a smart, safe and smooth way  of transportation and the best way to skip traffic jams on the roads.
Some people in Luang Prabang say they had heard that a new bridge  would be built over the river many years ago. The bridge hasn’t been  built and they have no clue why. “So why hasn’t this new bridge  built?” he pointed out.
 Though plans for a new bridge have been the talk of the town for  years, but apparently the government does not have enough money to  build a bridge there.
 The government plans to attract 4.6 million domestic and foreign  visitors in 2024. To achieve this goal, its priority is to promote the  Southeast Asian country’s most colourful activities to attract  visitors from around the world. The programme for Visit Laos Year 2024  will include 75 activities to be carried out across the country.

By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
 (Latest Update December 1, 2023)