Blogs from Nong Khiaw, West, Laos, Asia - page 3

Als einziger westlicher Fahrgast fuhr ich am Samstag vor Ostern im lokalen Bus nach Nong Khiaw. Der Bus war ein äußert klappriges Modell mit "natürlicher Aircondition" (=offenen Fenstern). Unterwegs hielt er regelmäßig an, um neue Passagiere aufzunehen, unter anderem zwei Bauern, die zwei kleine Schweine dabei hatten. Diese transportierten sie in speziellen, entfernt schweineähnlich geformten Bambuskörben, die kaum größer als die Tiere selbst waren. Bei der Unterbringung wurde auch wenig Rücksicht darauf genommen, dass e sich um lebende Wesen und nicht um Körbe voller Gemüse handelte. Leider ist diese Art von Tiertransport hier absolut üblich und ob wir da im Westen, wo das Vieh in kleinen Käfigen auf LKWs transportiert werden so viel besser sind, wage ich zu bezweifeln. In Südostasien dürfen die Tiere außerhalb der Transporte wenigstens überall frei herumlaufen. Ein anderes Mal hielt... read more

From Luang Prabang we headed further north, in to the uplands, to Nong Kiaow for a bit of tranquility before leaving Laos. Our driver was sane and the scenery still beautiful as we wound our way through the hills, past small villages, rice fields, plantation and forest and scrubby hillsides. We had some very chatty companions on our bus although we kept our noses in our books, being as sociable as ever, partly to avoid a real know-it-all, noisy brit (us obviously being much more sedate)! We pulled in to Nong Kiaow, a small village nestled on either side of the Nam Ou River at the feet of some impressive, towering hills, all rock and forest. We wandered over the bridge to the collection of guesthouses and found ourselves a little wooden bungalow, and figured we ... read more

So, about a month ago I read an article in Lonely planet magazine, written by the founder of Lonely planet himself, Mr. Wheeler. In it, he mentioned a hike in Northern Laos, so I was keen to see if I could get there. So often, I read the articles, and just add it to my wish list of travel. This time however, it became possible. Only 3 hours in a Sangthaew (like a tuk tuk) from Luang Prabang and so we went in the hope of finding the hike he had written about. The Sangthaew ride itself was interesting. We rocked up at the station to be pointed in the direction of a rickety old metal frame with an engine, and our bags were chucked on top. Squeezed in to the max, with luggage and people ... read more

(Mis)Adventures in Northern Laos Disdaining the usual tourist trail of Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng - Vientienne, I instead decided to catch a boat upriver to the tiny town of Nong Khiaw. The brief glimpse of rural village life I caught while ensconced in the slow boat down the Mekong a few days earlier merely served to whet my appetite for a more behind-the-scenes look at this country. I felt that there was so much more to Laos then the French bakeries of Luang Prabang, convivial party atmosphere of Vang Vieng, and the modern day hubbub of Vientienne. I wanted to delve deeper into the culture, history, and people of this beautiful country, and slurping back happy shakes at the local falang hangout didn’t seem like the way to do it. Joining me on this ambitious ... read more

Tuesday February 3rd We rewarded ourselves for trudging twenty minutes with our rucksacks by breakfasting at the Luang Prabang branch of the Scandinavian Bakery. The food was as delicious usual. In the background BBC World TV News as on and showed Britain carpeted in snow - how we smiled. We bought freshly filled tuna and cheese baguettes. (In Laos cheese inevitably means a triangle of Laughing Cow spread as there are not many dairy cows to be seen - milk is usually soya by default). We just had another five minute trudge left to the boat station. We bought tickets for 100,000 kip each (£9) from the wooden shed that is the ticket office and headed down the dusty slope to locate our boat which the back of the ticket said was number 016. There were ... read more