houseboats

Greetings from a newbie , i live on a houseboat in wiltshire,england and i was wondering if there were any houseboats on the mekong , possibly to rent or buy .
i understand that land is only available to people who are born in thailand but does that rule apply to houseboat owners.

my companion and i were thinking of a possible business venture and the houseboat idea is favourable to us .

Thankyou for your replies

Harry

Good question. On my stretch of the river there are a few houseboat looking contraptions tied up on the Lao side. A few of them are very nice and I wouldn't be surprised to learn someone is living on them. The exterior reminds me of the rice barges on Chao Prayah used for dinner cruises.

Interesting way to circumvent land ownership, Harry -- hat tip. Of course you'd still need a place to tie up ... and an address ... and a visa ...

Yes, an interesting idea.... but remember the Mekong suffers considerable changes in height during the year (the embankment at Nong Khai which was topped a year ago, is about 20 feet above normal dry season levels) so you would need a very good mooring or you may end up either stranded or floating away. it is not like the river Thames or a canal.

Thankyou for the information , maybe you can advise me further .....

Are there any businesses that back onto the mekong and might consider leasing the land that connects to the river , my idea is to build a pier at a height to allow for rising tides , we have a modest investment which may stretch far in thailand and good honest advice will not go unrewarded .

Thanks again

Harry

Any houseboats for rent?

Where's the original post and a reply gone?

I figure Lee is having some technical problems with the forum at the moment.

For me it has reverted back to an old "skin", and can sometimes be difficult to access.

have you ever seen the Mekong River Harry, have you ever swum across it..its one of the fastest flowing rivers I have had the pleasure to meet, and it can be full of floating logs moving at a great rate of knots..for all the history of the river I have never seen much of a wharf, afew small jobs up north, and one at the quarry near Phonprisai, and I havent seen any people living in houseboats, just crewmen of boats that work the river..maybe its to powerful, and dangerous, maybe the authorities dont allow living on the river as it is a border with laos, cambodia. maybe you should find out first if one can merely park up and do your thing..

The Mekong may not be the best river to put a house boat on. Over on the River Kwai, they have these party barges that are towed up and down the river.

Scotlandyard ,,, "my idea is to build a pier at a height to allow for rising tides"

I think you may want to reconsider the idea,,,,, if this isn't a windup,,,, this part of the Mae Nam Khong doesn't have tides,,,,,, but extreme seasonal fluctuations, and as pointed out by others, a wild side, unregulated navigational systems/markers, and dangerous flotsam/jetsam, etc. Not to mention the human predators along said river.

Other places in Thailand maybe,,, but along this stretch,,,,, IMHO problematic.

See http://www.classic-barges.com/refurbishing.htm for some ideas.....

well said Loong lee, the human predators would be my first major concern, and then the river.