It’s been a while since I’ve
entered Laos for the second time and updated my blog ( and you) on my
adventures and experiences. Well I had quite some adventures so I will start at
the end and work my way back to when I’ve entered the country.
After spending a couple of days in Luang Prabang I left by slow boat to explore the Northern part of the country which I was told would be worth a visit and very different than the rest. At 9am I arrived at the ‘pier’ to buy my ticket and wait with several others to enter the boat. Finally we (12 Westerners) walked with all our luggage to the small boat which only had 8 seats. There were 4 old car seats and 4 wooden chairs chained to the boat so we all guessed that there must be 2 boats to take us to Nong Khiaw. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case so 8 of us were lucky to get a seat and the other 4 were with the luggage in the back. After a petrol stop (on the water) we did set off with one our boat. The scenery is beautiful from the riverside as the river banks are very green and it’s used as allotments for the locals, they grow their fresh herbs, string beans and cabbages. These locals also make use of the river as it’s a source of income; they dive to the bottom of the river to fill buckets to collect stones or sand as they can sell a truck load of it for 500.000 kips (£40). The river also feeds them; you see many men or children in their ‘Calvin Kleins’ with little fishing nets or fishing rod and a little basket around their waste to catch fish; women will pick river weed from the bottom of the river as it’s a delicious meal when it’s dried and fried with sesame seeds. But last but not least they use the river to have lots of fun and by this I mean the children playing or swimming in it. When you pass with your boat they jump in or try to reach you or just start waiving and jumping up and down to get your attention. Apart from that the views are stunning as along the way we left the villages and had big mountains in front of us to keep our eyes busy to take it all in.
However at some point the boat slowed down and I could clearly see the pebbled bottom of the river so we were ushered out of the boat as it was too heavy for the shallow water. So we took of our shoes and started pushing the boat to the deeper water. The pebbles were very painful to my bare feet so I started walking very slowly, cursing the stones and the boat that we had to get off. I started way behind the rest of the passengers and boat but I just couldn’t face walking on the pebbles. The locals thought it was funny and laughed but luckily one lady with a flat bottom boat felt sorry and said I could hop on to hers and she took me to the boat. So that was a great safe and panic over, we got back onto the boat and could rub our painful feet and dry our clothes. After 15 minutes we were taking in the view again and enjoying the ride.
But after half an hour we stopped again and I thought well this must be a toilet and/or lunch break but I was wrong. The river was too rough for us so we had to get off again and walk till we could catch up with the boat again further down the river. We all giggled and said “what’s next a cycling ride maybe?” This wasn’t the case but we did two more ‘toilet’ stops along the riverbank before we arrived after 7 hours at a rustic little town on the bank of the Ou River called Nong Khiaw. It is squeezed in between some of the most fantastic limestone mountains north of Vang Vieng. Nong Khiaw is simple in layout and small enough to walk around. A large concrete road bridge connects Nong Khiaw on the western side of the river with the village of Ban Sop Houn on the eastern side of the river, where many of the river-view bungalows are found and where I’m staying. I’ve visited the Pha Tok Caves which are set high in a limestone cliff sheltered villagers and Pathet Lao fighters during the Second Indochina war, inside a few signs identify points where command posts were stationed. The trail to the cave passes through many rice paddies and gives you a good inside how the locals live. The "ticket desk” is manned by a local family to support their income so usually it’s a mother with her small children who are camping out there for the day. Here I was able to communicate with some of the children who were playing near the cave and in the river which confirms that I prefer the little villages rather than the cities which are less personal.
I’m now moving on to Luang Namtha which is a beautiful area for several days tracking trips.
After spending a couple of days in Luang Prabang I left by slow boat to explore the Northern part of the country which I was told would be worth a visit and very different than the rest. At 9am I arrived at the ‘pier’ to buy my ticket and wait with several others to enter the boat. Finally we (12 Westerners) walked with all our luggage to the small boat which only had 8 seats. There were 4 old car seats and 4 wooden chairs chained to the boat so we all guessed that there must be 2 boats to take us to Nong Khiaw. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case so 8 of us were lucky to get a seat and the other 4 were with the luggage in the back. After a petrol stop (on the water) we did set off with one our boat. The scenery is beautiful from the riverside as the river banks are very green and it’s used as allotments for the locals, they grow their fresh herbs, string beans and cabbages. These locals also make use of the river as it’s a source of income; they dive to the bottom of the river to fill buckets to collect stones or sand as they can sell a truck load of it for 500.000 kips (£40). The river also feeds them; you see many men or children in their ‘Calvin Kleins’ with little fishing nets or fishing rod and a little basket around their waste to catch fish; women will pick river weed from the bottom of the river as it’s a delicious meal when it’s dried and fried with sesame seeds. But last but not least they use the river to have lots of fun and by this I mean the children playing or swimming in it. When you pass with your boat they jump in or try to reach you or just start waiving and jumping up and down to get your attention. Apart from that the views are stunning as along the way we left the villages and had big mountains in front of us to keep our eyes busy to take it all in.
However at some point the boat slowed down and I could clearly see the pebbled bottom of the river so we were ushered out of the boat as it was too heavy for the shallow water. So we took of our shoes and started pushing the boat to the deeper water. The pebbles were very painful to my bare feet so I started walking very slowly, cursing the stones and the boat that we had to get off. I started way behind the rest of the passengers and boat but I just couldn’t face walking on the pebbles. The locals thought it was funny and laughed but luckily one lady with a flat bottom boat felt sorry and said I could hop on to hers and she took me to the boat. So that was a great safe and panic over, we got back onto the boat and could rub our painful feet and dry our clothes. After 15 minutes we were taking in the view again and enjoying the ride.
But after half an hour we stopped again and I thought well this must be a toilet and/or lunch break but I was wrong. The river was too rough for us so we had to get off again and walk till we could catch up with the boat again further down the river. We all giggled and said “what’s next a cycling ride maybe?” This wasn’t the case but we did two more ‘toilet’ stops along the riverbank before we arrived after 7 hours at a rustic little town on the bank of the Ou River called Nong Khiaw. It is squeezed in between some of the most fantastic limestone mountains north of Vang Vieng. Nong Khiaw is simple in layout and small enough to walk around. A large concrete road bridge connects Nong Khiaw on the western side of the river with the village of Ban Sop Houn on the eastern side of the river, where many of the river-view bungalows are found and where I’m staying. I’ve visited the Pha Tok Caves which are set high in a limestone cliff sheltered villagers and Pathet Lao fighters during the Second Indochina war, inside a few signs identify points where command posts were stationed. The trail to the cave passes through many rice paddies and gives you a good inside how the locals live. The "ticket desk” is manned by a local family to support their income so usually it’s a mother with her small children who are camping out there for the day. Here I was able to communicate with some of the children who were playing near the cave and in the river which confirms that I prefer the little villages rather than the cities which are less personal.
I’m now moving on to Luang Namtha which is a beautiful area for several days tracking trips.
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| Petrol station |
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| views |
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| Nong Khiaw |
That's the funniest boat ride - you have to keep coming on and off to keep up with it! Hilarious. the pebbles on the bottom sounded horrible.
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