Luang Nam Tha & Nong Khiaw

Luang Nam Tha Rock & Roll night
see all photos »

So after waking a few guesthouses up at 1.30am we finaly found a place that would let us stay the night. We were so happy to get a bed and a shower! The next day we wondered round Luang Nam Tha and decided a massage was on the agenda, but not before we stopped by a local bakery and treated ourselves to some delicious banana bread and ice coffees. The massage place was hilarious, it was this little bamboo shack on the river edge and although the view from the hut was gorgeous, they were currently refurbishing inside - however this didn’t stop them from giving us a massage. As we laid there getting our massage the father of the family was there with his hammer and saw building away, occasionally stopping for a chat to his wife and son who were massaging us, drinking beer Lao and lighting a smoke….quite bizarre altogether!

The Nam Ou River in Nong Khiaw
see all photos »

That night the 6 of us met up together for our first Indian meal. By the time we headed to the Indian we had 2 more with us - Jakob an 18 year old from South Africa and Akhim, a 50ish (Dennis Hopper look-a-like)guy from Germany. After dinner we decided to sample the local "discotechque" which consisted of a small band giving it rock all to Lao Rock and Roll and one table of locals who looked like they had called in from work. That didn’t stop us from getting up and dancing like mad things, much to the amusement of the locals and the band…."these crazy falangs!!!!"

Passing the Lao Lao (Akhim, the mad German!)
see all photos »

We left Luang Nam Tha early the next morning, all 8 of us plus another guy called Dominik - a 40 year old from Switzerland, (who was quite commical without meaning to be & reminded us of Steve Martin) who had an American accent from living there the last few years. The bus journey to Pak Mong was meant to take 6 hours but true to Lao style took us 9 hours and included loo stops, market stops, road work stops, flat tyre stops and stops for the general sake of it. Once in Pak Mong we flagged down a Sangtheaw (cross between a taxi and a Tuk Tuk) to take the 9 of us to Nong Khiew. 1 hour later and we had finally arrived…what a day, but worth it as even in the dark we could tell we were going to like this place.

Passing the Water Buffalo relaxing
see all photos »

Nong Khiaw is a very small Village consisting of 2 main roads and a boat landing strip on the Nam Ou River. We all stayed in these really cute little bamboo huts that cost 2 dollars a night and consisted of a bed and a mozzie net. It is probably the best place we have stayed yet. The 9 of us headed out for some food and a few beers before crashing for the night. The next morning we were all blown away with the scenery that surrounded us - each corner had an amazing mountain in it. We took a long walk to some caves where local villagers were said to have hidden out during the Secret War in the late 60's, early 70's. You could still see the craters where the American planes had dropped their bombs, emptying them as they flew back to base from Vietnam. 2 young local boys followed us around and showed us the caves shouting "bomb, bomb"" everytime we passed a crater. They also showed us where all the bats were sleeping! That night we all sat round for a "Sundowner" (a few beers as the sun goes down….) and headed to dinner in a really cute little place 2 doors down. The father of the café took our order while putting a bottle of Lao Lao in the middle of the table - the night was going to be messy! After dinner and 4 bottles of Lao Lao we all got a carry out and headed back to our huts where we started a bonfire, played music and generally danced and drank till the wee early hours.

The next day it was time for the group to split up and was actually quite sad to say bye to the others. Us, Cecillia & Dominik all headed to try and charter a slow boat to Luang Prabang while the rest headed up river to another small village called Muang Nyog. The Slow boat was a 6 hour journey down the Nam Ou river with the most amazing scenery ever. We passed a load of small villages where they were all out fishing and swimming, everyone "was waving at us and shouting "sa ba dii", we also passed tons of water Buffalo just lounging in the river, taking it easy. Although the journey was lovely, it is fair to say that we were glad to get of the boat after 6 hours as all of our arses were numb. We got a Tuk Tuk and headed straight to a guesthouse called Merry 2 in Luang Prabang. We were looking forward to some R&R and not having to pack and unpack for a while as we were planning on spending a week here.