Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi, Laos

Traveling up the Nam Ou

We decided to do a little excursion upriver from Luang Prabang, traveling up one of the Mekong’s tributaries, the Nam Ou.  We wanted to visit the villages of Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi, both said to be good for experiencing local life as well as being good places to relax.  The boat ride was supposed to take six hours to reach the village of Nong Khiaw, with seven of us in the boat, all tourists.  We loaded up in the morning and took off up the Mekong, turning onto the Nam Ou about an hour upriver.  The Nam Ou was smaller than the Mekong and in some parts very shallow.  At one point our driver and his companion stopped the motor, took off their pants, and hopped into the water in their underwear in order to push the boat upstream over a very shallow area.  We felt silly sitting in the boat so about five of us got out and helped push – the water was barely over my knees, not deep at all.  I don’t think I was much help – the current was so strong I could barely walk forward in it, much less push a boat!  I’m sure it helped just to get some of the weight out of the boat (it makes me feel better to think I contributed in some small way!).  Our driver really knew the river well – we passed so many areas with large boulders just below the surface that were hard to see.  Other areas had big, rocky rapids.  He did a great job of picking his path through all the obstacles.

Pushing the boat upriver!

The scenery was similar to what we had seen on the Mekong, only the river was smaller and looked less polluted.  We saw lots of water buffalo lounging in the water, pigs on the shore, riverside villages, children swimming, and men fishing.  We enjoyed being on the river and never got tired of it, even though we had been on the slow boat only a few days earlier.  Our driver stopped partway for a break where we all got out and sat on a sandy bank, near a riverside village.  A bunch of kids were playing there and greeted our boat.  Daron took a couple of pictures of them and they enjoyed seeing themselves in the digital screen of our camera.  This led to us letting them take pictures of us and each other with our camera, with lots of giggling going on in between.  Somehow a flat soccer ball showed up and the game began, with all of us kicking the ball around and chasing it on the sandy bank.  That was all fun until the ball was accidentally kicked into the water, which prompted all the kiddos to lose their clothes and go for a swim!  We left shortly thereafter and waved to them as we went by. 

Water buffalo

We got to Nong Khiaw eight hours after we had started – it was a longer journey than we expected!  We walked up the stairs from the river to the town and were surprised when no one was there to greet us.   No kids to take our bags, no tuk tuk drivers, nothing!  It was nice to be ignored for once.  We wandered through town and across the bridge where we saw some bungalows with great river views.  Daron went in to look at one while I waited by the bags, our usual strategy.  He thought it looked great, so we paid for one night.  The bungalow was nice but the bathroom left something to be desired (and leave it to a guy not to notice!).  It consisted of a squat toilet, the usual showerhead coming out of the wall, and a faucet for the bucket of water used to “flush” the squat toilet.  No sink, no mirror.  We had to brush our teeth over the squat toilet – ugh.  The balcony with a hammock and the fabulous view was a good consolation.  We had a good dinner in town and enjoyed sleeping under a mosquito net (they feel a bit romantic to me).

Kiddos taking pictures of themselves (our boat in back)!

We woke up to a cool, crisp morning and lots of fog over the river.  As the morning went on, the fog rose and we could see incredibly steep mountains all around us.  Such a beautiful place!  We had a good breakfast in town and looked at the other guesthouses in the area.  We ended up moving to a cheaper place, with a great view and a western toilet, sink, and mirror.  All for 60,000 kip, which is only $7.50!  We didn’t know it at the time, but the instant hot water contraption in the shower was broken, so we had to take cold showers – brrr!  Other than that, it was a nice place. 

Our one day in town was spent riding bikes.  We rode through the small town a couple of times, including all the roads in and out of town until they got too hilly.  We stopped at a little café and had not one, but two banana splits (they were SO good) AND a waffle!  We went back the next day for breakfast where we had yet another waffle and a pancake!  After such hearty fare we caught the daily boat headed upstream to the town of Muang Ngoi.  This time the boat had no seats, just planks of wood along the sides to sit on, and it was packed!  Not the most comfortable ride, but luckily the trip only took an hour.  Muang Ngoi only has one main street, so we shuffled down it, looking at bungalows along the way until we found one we liked.

The cave we explored

Muang Ngoi is only accessible by river, so there aren’t any vehicles in town, which is nice. The electricity is only on three hours a day, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm.  The villagers do an amazing job of cooking food over a fire (they have this clay pot contraption).  Ice is brought in by boat to keep important things (like beer J) cold.

One day we explored one of the caves just outside of town.  We went quite a ways into it, but turned around because we only had one headlamp with us and it was too hard for both of us to see where we were going.  Next time we’ll remember to bring two!  The limestone mountains in this part of Laos are full of caves— they played an important part during what is called the Secret War (during the Vietnam War).  From what I’ve learned, Laos was declared a neutral nation after the first Indochina War, and as such neither Vietnam nor the U.S. could cross its borders.  Eventually both countries did, while pretending not to, which is why it is called the Secret War.  Lao territory was a crucial part of the North Vietnamese war effort.  The Viet Minh were funneling massive amounts of war munitions down the Ho Chi Minh Trail (in Laos), so in response the U.S. non-stop carpetbombed eastern and northeastern Laos where it borders Vietnam.  Many Lao people hid out in the caves.  Thousands of them lived in hundreds of caves, sleeping by day and working at night in the fields outside.  Laos is the most bombed country per capita in the history of warfare, with a total of 580,000 bombing missions conducted over Laos during the conflict.  That’s one bombing mission every eight minutes around the clock for almost ten years (1964-1973)!  Thirty percent of those bombs failed to explode, leaving tons of UXO (unexploded ordinance) in the country.  Our guidebook warned to stay on trails and not go bushwacking, as it could be fatal.  Disposal teams have been working on the UXOs since the 1980s, but still have a long way to go.  It is estimated that 300 people a year are maimed or die from the UXOs, many of them while farming the land or gathering forest products.  About a third are children.  I can’t even imagine having that kind of danger in the forest – it makes bears and snakes seem tame in comparison!

Locals putting together the mystery houses

During our time in Muang Ngoi the locals were putting together two elaborate little bamboo houses (about three feet high each).  They decorated them with flowers and money, spending all day working on them.  At night they would sing and carry on, all night long.  This went on for the two days we were there, and who knows when it started and when it will end!  It was difficult to find out what the occasion was, but from what we could gather, two villagers had recently died and this was part of the funeral.  It was so very interesting, but frustrating too because we couldn’t get any information about what was going on (no good English speakers around). 

Inside our little bungalow on the river!

After two relaxing days in Muang Ngoi, we made our way back to Luang Prabang.  We traveled by boat back to Nong Khiaw and then decided to take the bus back from there.  By the time we got to the bus station the first bus was full, so we paid for a ticket on the next vehicle out, which happened to be a minivan.  A bunch of us tourists got tickets and loaded up into the van, all ready to go.  There were a bunch of locals hanging out together at the bus station, one of which was our driver.  He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave, so after sitting in the minivan for 20 minutes or so, we all got out.  Daron and I went next door and ordered lunch, which we got about halfway through when we heard the call that we were leaving!  We gobbled down what we could and hopped in the van, on our way. 

Village hut in Nong Khiaw

The roads in Laos are so different than in Thailand.  For one, there are hardly any cars!  There are lots of scooters and in the villages we passed, lots of people riding bikes.  The schoolkids ride bikes while holding umbrellas to protect them from the sun.  Our driver was very cautious and took his time, which I appreciated.  Daron and I were sitting in the front with him, and at one point he pulled over onto the side of the road, said something to me (not sure what), and got out of the minivan to take a pee in a nearby field.  We all piled out of the van, everyone asking me if we were stopping for a break or if the minivan broke down.  Beats the heck out of me!  It turned out to be just a break, although the van did need to be pushed a ways in order to get it started up.

Our little excursion to the sleepy villages of Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi were fun.  It seems that everything we do here, not matter how small (like the van ride), is an adventure!