day 36 - Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi

Friday, 29 November 2013

We decided to stay in the Nong Khiaw area today and see a bit more of the surroundings. After breakfast, we caught a boat, with about 10 other tourists, one hour upstream to Muang Ngoi, a small village that is now a popular base for tourists wanting to trek, climb or do some water sports. Many people in the village rely on tourism as their main source of income. After a delayed departure from Nong Khiaw, we arrived at the village at 12.30pm and walked for a while to see what was going on. 

(We had some company at breakfast)

(Arriving into Muang Ngoi)

(The main street in Muang Ngoi)

(The entrance gate to the village. We believe they replace this once a year under the guidance 

of the town shaman and that only the men in the village are allowed to assist with building the gate)

We saw women weaving silk and cotton items on large wooden looms set up outside the front of their houses. Most wooden houses don't appear to have many, if any, windows so a lot of work is done outdoors during the day. The edible 'river weed' was also drying on mats in the sun, infused with flavours like tomato, garlic and sesame.

(River weed drying in the sun)

We had read this morning that the Laotians now use the shell casing of American bombs that were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War for decoration and practical purposes and we saw evidence of this today. When dropped from a plane, the shells would open vertically and release hundreds of tennis ball sized bombs. Its been estimated that nearly half a million Laotians were killed during the war and we have heard that it could take another 100 years before the unexploded bombs that still lie buried throughout the western provinces are recovered and disarmed. 

(Shell casings provide decoration outside this guesthouse)

(The vertical split that released the bombs is clear to see on this shell)

When the time came for us to catch the 2pm boat back, we found out that there was no boat and that the only one going to Nong Khiaw had left that morning at 9.30am. It seemed that the tour guide we had consulted about boat times was misinformed. We ended up paying a lot more to catch a private boat back. It was a good lesson in double-checking our information. After the chilly boat ride, we went to the local herbal sauna to warm up. The steam was almost scalding but it definitely did the trick to shake off the cold. 

(Lots of boats but none leaving for Nong Khiaw)

(400,000 Kip got us back to Nong Khiaw, about eight times as much as a meal for two costs)

Tomorrow we'll cycle west to Pak Xeng and then on to Sam Neua. It'll be lovely to see more of the countryside and the people.