Thursday, 28 November 2013
We arrived today in Nong Khiaw after a 30km cycle from Pak Mong, where we stayed last night. The town is nestled in among steep dark limestone karsts, with a wide river snaking through the middle. It was a great start to the day to cycle past all the smiling kids on their way to school. At one point we passed another couple cycling in the other direction and exchanged quick hellos.
We arrived today in Nong Khiaw after a 30km cycle from Pak Mong, where we stayed last night. The town is nestled in among steep dark limestone karsts, with a wide river snaking through the middle. It was a great start to the day to cycle past all the smiling kids on their way to school. At one point we passed another couple cycling in the other direction and exchanged quick hellos.
(Children in Pak Mong riding to school)
(Finished our breakfast of Pho (noodle soup) and almost ready to set off)
(The road to Nong Khiaw. Poinsettias by the road side make it feel a little Christmassy)
(We think this man was carrying mattresses. At least he'll have a soft landing if he topples over)
(Arriving into Nong Khiaw)
We arrived shortly after 9.30am in Nong Khiaw and found a nice guesthouse by the river. We were ready for a second breakfast by then so headed out to Delilah's cafe where we met an English couple about our age who cycled here from the UK and have been on the road for 8 months!! We were immensely impressed at the distance they had covered and enjoyed chatting to them and sharing some tips as they were heading towards Luang Prabang, from where we had just come.
(The grounds of the guest house)
We spent the afternoon exploring a dirt track along the river which lead us through a couple of small villages. The track was thick with mud in parts and it made for some tough work on the bikes. We had done another 30km by the time we were back in the town.
(Our afternoon activity - tackling the dirt track)
(One of the villages we passed through)
(Don't think we'd get too far on this)
Nong Khiaw seems like a pretty popular spot. We are having dinner in one of a dozen or so restaurants, and we appear to be surrounded by French people. We've read that there is a great look out, some caves and a waterfall in the area so we'll do some exploring tomorrow on foot and get to know the place a bit better.
(Looking down stream from Nong Khiaw)
(Looking up stream from the town)
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