Gypsy (Boat)

Embark on a languid journey that winds through the forested, hill-hugged Mekong along a serpentine river route that connects northern Thailand with Luang Prabang in Laos. Make Gypsy, a 135-foot riverboat, your floating home for the four-day trip. Accommodating just four guests at a time, it’s an exclusive-use experience you won’t have to share with strangers. The trip is made both comfortable and memorable courtesy of a guide, chef, housekeeper, server-mixologist, captain, and crew.  

Boasting just two cabins, Gypsy is a custom-built, luxurious vessel traveling a route that was, until recently, commonly reserved for backpackers crossing between Laos and Thailand. Constructed of timber and bamboo and topped with a motley thatched roof, Gypsy might evoke a Swiss Family Robinson aesthetic, but inside, she’s pure craftsmanship. Handsome wood interiors mingle with elegant Asian furniture. Air-conditioned cabins have plush bed linens, Juliet balconies, and ensuite washrooms. Built-in cabinetry, wood-carved screens, bird nest lamp shades, local art, and silk textiles are elements you would expect from a hotel room—let alone a ship.  

At Gypsy’s mid-ship lounge, take sumptuous meals churned out by the galley staff. Choose, depending on your mood, whether to savor Lao or Western specialties. Enjoy cocktails in the forward lounge or while sunning yourself on the bow’s panorama lounge.  

A trip on Gypsy is slow travel, embodied. You’ll pass through river valleys unspoiled by development and absent a cell signal. Along these banks, little has changed. Revel in the joyful simplicity of realizing that for some villagers, the sight of Gypsy drifting might just be the spectacle of the day.