Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoy - Laos winter in the jungle !

Day 85 - 11/2/2016
Bac Ha - North western Vietnam

I wish I had finished up writing about Laos while we’re in Laos. We’ve been in Vietnam for more than a week already and there has been a lot of moments worth writing down. But firstly let’s go back in the time almost 3 weeks from current date.

The weather was still warm and sweet, baguette sandwiches cheap and available and we’re just about to leave Luang Prabang on minibus together with another 8 travellers bound for Nam Ou river paradise called Nong Khiaw. Officially the journey should have taken just 3 hours but at the end it turned out to be almost 6 hours :) Including one hour of picking up other people in Luang Prabang, couple of waiting times on road works spots and massive lunch in a restaurant probably owned by the family of the bus driver as it was just 30 kms away from our final stop :)

Nong Khiaw

Described in tour guides as “off the beaten path” spot, but that must have been very long time ago :)

Nong Khiaw scenery from the viewpoint 450 m higher

Pick ups were lined up on the bus station like hungry bears for honey delivery. After many hours of sitting we we’re in strong need of short walk so we didn’t jump on the back of one of the pickups and walked 2 km to the village instead. We’ve got a bit worried that all the other guys might occupy all available accommodation and we’d end up on the street, but we’re bloody wrong.

There were far more guest houses than guests :)

The bridge over Nam Ou river splits tourist part of the town from local one 

We had just enough sunlight left to grab couple of beers and to go to  the beach to wash the sweat away and to watch sunset. Nam Ou river is pretty wide and deep in this area, not the cleanest but not too dirty either.

Never grow up !

Set between massive limestone mountains on both banks of the river, Nong Khiaw had to be pretty sleepy town in the past before the tourists arrived and the left bank of the river has been covered with countless guest houses.

Nong Khiaw karst skyline

There are few things you can do here. Either go for day-walks around Nong Khiaw (cave, waterfall, view point, etc) or weather permitting, the most interesting option is walking in further surrounding valleys and mountains. Few tourist agencies are operating in the area offering trekking and kayaking trips. Some of the walks are doable on your own, for the more challenging is recommended to hire a guide ( climbing local mountains requires deeper knowledge of the area ).

Exploring the easiest way - walking / hitch hiking

We’re lucky and first 2 days the sun was still shining and temperatures were reaching 30 C in the afternoon.We went to see tiny waterfall few kms east and it was located on a tiny creek rather than stream or river, so there wasn’t much water running through it.

You don't need much to have fun with local kids :)

One thing which is a little bit annoying after while being in Laos as a tourist is the fact that every little thing which can be monetised has a couple of dudes sitting under wooden roof, smoking all day and charging 1 to 2 euros for entrance. It can be little cave, entrance to the village by public road or waterfall on a creek. Sometimes the money is really worth the experience, but sometimes it can end in hard disappointment.

Tati leading local rebels

What definitely is worth the money is the viewpoint on the hill above the town. 1 hour walk on a steep path will get you 450 m higher and offer magnificent 360 degrees view of the area.

Morning mist hangs around every day

Nam Ou serpents through lush jungle 

The forecast was showing few days of cold and rain ahead of us and we’re pretty happy to be based in brick house room.

Goodbye buddy, we won't see you for a while :(

Northerly wind brought exceptionally cold air from southern china and the temperature dropped by 25 degrees in the span of 24 hours.

Next day the wind got lighter but the rain started pouring down in heavy streams. It didn’t stop raining for the whole day and we spent most of the day in the bed under thick duvets, wrapped in our sleeping bags and all clothes we had.

Beef Olam with sticky rice - ohh how tasty this was ....

We left Nong Khiaw after 5 nights heading to Muang Ngoy on overloaded boat. One thinks about the safety of the travel in this country and can’t be sure whether what is worse whether  crazy road conditions or overloaded boats :)

Life can be easier when you're ready for all conditions - see more

Muang Ngoy

We’ve arrived after few days of rain and all village was bathing in mud. There are no paved roads and even a bit of the rain changes the condition dramatically.

Only foreigners can queue by instinct, locals looked bit confused by that :)

We got caught by guesthouse owner just on our arrival and took his wooden bungalow close to the jetty. Our mission was to figure out how difficult it will be to get to Muang Khua from here by boat and the boats seemed to be running every day during our visit. Price differs based on passenger demand. From 4 passengers it is 150 k KIP, for 8 - 10 passengers it can go as low as 100 k KIP.

Fishing easy peasy on Nam Ou 

The river is very calm between Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoy

We’re craving some good Lao coffee so we strolled on the main street till we found little place little bit hidden on the bank of the river. It was still pretty early when we finished our cuppa so we took first bigger path out of the town and after half an hour we reached little stream coming out from under the cliff and little wooden shack with local guy charging entrance fee for the cave and villages further up the road. We did our duty and paid each 20 k KIP, not that the cave would be anything special, but with good head torches and enough of time one could wander much deeper following the stream than we did.

 Princess vs. Wobbly bamboo

Further up the road just under the huge black rock covered with jungle forest we took fork to the left and followed really muddy track for next 30 minutes. Suddenly we’ve appeared in the village with huge celebration going on already for few days and most of the men were totally hammered :)

Rice paddies waiting for next seeding time

We got a beer and fried vegetables ( just cabbage ) and slowly retraced our steps back to Muang Ngoy.

Typical house in village stands on stilts, has bamboo walls and tin roof

Next day we headed same direction but instead of staying on the main road we turned right shortly after the cave entrance and walked through countless rice paddies till first village ( 40 minutes ), got some coffee, played some backgammon and continued further to next village on the right side of the river. The further you go of the main dirt road, the more authentic the villages become. Except one or two houses built with little support of concrete, most of the buildings are purely wooden stilt houses. Fat pigs are running around while cocks are fighting on every other corner.

Place your bets, not controlled cock fight

Locals take cold shower in the high afternoon heat when it’s the most bearable experience :)

Everything looks brighter when the sun shines again !

You can pass through this village further to little cascade and follow the stream into wild jungle where wild pomelos will fall on your head from almost every tree around :)

DIY hydropower - requires 1 stream, 1 tree trunk, 1 old boat propeller, 1 dynamo, few hundred meters of cables

It’s also possible to stay in these villages and experience some of the authentic rural life or even come directly from the jetty there without a night stay in Muang Ngoy.  Definitely worth the short walk or the full circuit !

Exploring jungle paths

On the way back we bought some home grown tobacco and Tati did some sketches.

Find the balance !

Nature around is a mixture of wild bushes, grown up jungle and rice paddies everywhere. Now and then veg or banana plantations. Buffaloes are the most common travellers you’ll meet.

Mind the crap, it's not small and it's still warm :)

We got to the bed early and got ready for 4 hours trip up the river to Muang Khua.

Winter is coming !

Fresh morning on the boat to Muang Khua