Down by The River
Four hours north of Luang Prabang lays the delicious little hamlet of Nong Khiaw astride the beautiful Nam Ou River. On the recommendation of a fellow traveler, we headed north from Luang Prabang on 4 hour minibus journey, a kaleidoscope of stunning scenery passing by our windows as we weaved our way along the river, not knowing what to expect when we arrived.
Exceeding our expectations, the Nong Khiaw River Resort, with its ‘Heavenly beds’, picturesque setting, and total serenity, provided a perfect retreat for a few days. Across
from our room was a massive limestone rock face at least 2000’ in height, rising straight out of the river, with no obvious paths to the summit, and I wondered if any rock climbers had ever attempted this ascent.
Nong Khiaw is somewhat off the tourist track, with most people sticking to the well trodden Vientiane – Vang Viang – Luang Prabang circuit, yet here you have the opportunity to trek to authentic Lao villages or do nothing but sit on the deck and watch river time pass
beneath.
We had intended to make a loop through northern Lao, but
found this area so beautiful and so compelling that we decided to stay here
rather than spend time on local buses. There’s yet another village, one hour
north by boat only, that we’ll also travel to, but for now, we’re appreciating
some of the finest mountainous vistas one could ever see.
One day we walked about an hour and a half to a small
village on the banks of the river. Again, all the kids ran out to greet us, so
charming and so genuine. One local guy, who had a bit too much Lao Lao whiskey,
kept trying to talk us into boat trip –
I’m not sure
where –but we judiciously declined his kind offer. We continue to
be amazed at the
joyousness and total innocence of the kids in the villages. They do not beg, although if you take their picture, they do know the word ‘money’, and we give them 1000-5000 kip (10 cents – 50 cents).
Another day we walked to the local cave and waterfall –
seems every village has their own cave and waterfall – passing thru 2 other
local villages. Marge and I have both become accustomed to the many chickens
and pigs and dogs roaming everywhere, yet are still amazed that each village
always has more than one satellite dish. Curiously, we observed a group of kids beating a long bamboo pole in the tree, then screaming and running all
around. When we asked what they were doing, one of the kids showed a handful of
This blog will have extra pictures, since we can’t begin to
describe how beautiful it is here – this is truly an unchanged part of Lao, one certainly going out of your way to visit.
We’re going to do a series of informational blogs in the next month or so on how we do the following:
Finding Accommodations – how to find that perfect room
Security and Finances – how to sleep worry free at night
Travel Essentials – what we travel with – what’s really important
Logistics – how we get from point A to point B – decisions, decisions
Housekeeping – anything else we didn’t cover above
