Blogs from Nong Khiaw, West, Laos, Asia - page 4

After purchasing our ticket, we board our boat which takes 7 hours up the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers to Nong Khiaw. Our small slowboat only has us plus a French couple as passengers. About 15metres long and drawing no more than half a metre, I reckon we make about 10 knots. Being dry season there are many rocks and obstructions just under the surface, and at times navigation looks very tricky. We were counting on the drivers good knowledge of the river. All we had to sit on were tiny little wooden chairs like we got at playgroup. I must admit, my arse was a bit numb by the time we got there. Passing villages en-route, it's immediately obvious that the river here is the lifeblood of these communities: it feeds them and provides transportation ... read more

Ein Pass lag noch zwischen Vieng Kham und ein paar wohlverdienten Ruhetagen in der Hängematte am Nam Ou. Nach sieben hügeligen Kilometern den Nam Xeng hinauf, machte der Hwy 1, heute wieder in etwas besserem Zustand, eine Biegung nach Westen und es folgte ein gut 15 km langer, kontinuierlicher Anstieg. Von der Passhöhe ging es dann gut 10 km bergab, und nach weiteren knapp 15 hügeligen Kilometern durch schöne Karstlandschaft war Nong Khiaw erreicht. Ein kleiner, herrlich gelegener Marktflecken am, hier wohl gut 150m breiten, Nam Ou, eingebettet in hohe Kalksteinberge. Wer hier auf der üblichen Route, via Luang Prabang, ankommt, wird denken: was für ein herrlich einfaches, abgeschiedenes Fleckchen Erde. Von Sam Neua kommend ist Nong Khiaw hingegen eine Rückkehr in die Zivilisation, mit 24h Elektrizität, Kühlschränken, Internet, und sogar ein Resort mit Cappuccino und ... read more

Gosh i'm being very creative with my titles lately aren't i...! well there's not an awful lot to report but as i am now at the and of my time in Laos...and have a few hours to kill before i get an overnight train to Bangkok... i though i might as well wrap it all up ready to start again when i'm back in Koh Pangan. So.... Friday 21st March I took a minibus for about 3 and half hours up to Nong Khiaw...the scenery is much better up north, more rural and rugged feeling with lots of very basic houses dotted along the edge of the roads which lets you know it's also the poorer end. But still, the kids look happy playing around in the river and people are just getting on with things. ... read more

Nong Khiaw Our bus ride to Nong Khiaw was a typical s.e. asian affair. Very small bus, crammed full of passengers and various live animals. At least we made it to the right bus station though. We met a couple of travellers from Israel at the bus station and it turned out we were all going on the same bus. We settled down for the long bumpy ride and chewed on our baguettes. 4-5 hours later we arrived a little dusty in Nong Khiaw, a tiny village set high in the limestone mountains along the banks of the river Ou. (Mae Nam Ou = Mother Water Ou.......all Laos rivers start Mae Nam) None of us were planning to stay in NK but as soon as we got off the bus we decided it would be a ... read more

By the time I reached the top of the docks at Muang Ngoi, I was already convinced coming here was worth it. To provide some relief from the bare wooden planks of the boat’s floor, Valérie and I arranged our packs as cushions when boarding in Nong Kiow. The Hmong passengers en route to villages kilometers from their drop off point looked at us with minor curiosity. The scheduled ten thirty departure pulled out of Nong Kiow right on time, at eleven fifteen. Many native Hmong worked as a team to load the boat up with supplies, including those needed in Muang Ngoi: rice, bags of raw fish and the accompanying nails, ceramic basins, tools, water, medicine, paper products, panes of glass, and textiles. The longboats on the Nam Ou just don’t transport people, but are ... read more