Day 17:
After a wonderful massage at Angsana Spa, Luang Prabang and lunch at Zurich bread we were off for Nong Khiaw. We left Luang Prabang at 1:00 pm and rode the 140 km in 2 hrs, 40 mins (including a pee stop and a few navigation verifications).
We checked into the Meexai Guesthouse, a basic but clean hotel near the start of the lookout trail. We were greeted with Lao Lao whiskey and friendly conversation with Somit to learn the game of Pétanque.
Dinner at Coco House, overlooking the river. The Red Curry soup with chicken and vegetables was outstanding. Shawn had spaghetti bolognese. If you are craving spaghetti, he gave this a passing grade.
Day 18:
Today we did the one day biking and kayaking adventure with Nong Khiaw Adventure. I can’t really say I enjoyed this tour, other than the exercise. The bikes were terrible. I certainly didn’t expect good bikes – but these were barely rideable. Shawn’s first bike had no back brake, and a very grabby front brake. Within 300 meters of starting our journey, his bike gave up. The chain and gears were done. After replacing his bike with a moderately improved version, we were off. The trail is a mud track that affords some views, but I wouldn’t call it pretty. The road is in bad shape, which would be fine on a decent bike and a riot on the Honda’s, but was horribly uncomfortable for this old gal!
After an hour and a half of somewhat nice riding, it was still cool at least, we arrived at a farm where we were able to help plant garlic. This brief excursion was the highlight of the tour. At least we were off the bikes. After this it got just too hot to enjoy riding. The trail offered no shade, and walking our shitty bikes up hill after hillgot old. Our guide, although nice enough, didn’t speak much English so our questions went unanswered, and we learned nothing about the villages or crops we passed. Lunch was fine, but certainly not memorable.
After lunch we rode another half hour in the blazing heat, quickly losing our guide who was also not enjoying the bicycling. This part was supposed to take an hour, but I was anxious to get to the next town and out of the sun. Arriving in the village of Sopkan early, we were able to meet some of the local children. Sharing candy and buying milk (with permission) for the local youngsters (4-9 years old) was definitely the most fun part of the day, although certainly not on the agenda.
From here we were supposed to kayak back to Nong Khiaw. Apparently the paddles went missing overnight, but by this time we were fine just taking the motorboat back to Nong Khiaw. It looked like the kayaking would have been the most fun part of this tour, as the river offered nice views and some small rapids.
Back at the hotel we realize that Shawn’s sniffle from yesterday has turned into a cold. This means enjoying the hammock on our deck before dinner!
Dinner at Q Bar for traditional Lao BBQ with chicken, pork and beef with Lao Lao Whiskey to top it off. Fantastic! I’m sure there was a “Lao” pinch of MSG in it. MSG is often served on the side like salt. It comes from Japan and the Laotians love it!
Nong Khiaw is an interesting village. It’s not your typical young backpackers crowd. In fact it’s mostly people of retirement age. Given the accommodation is very basic, it’s somewhat surprising. Perhaps it’s because the only thing to do is organized tours -which are relatively expensive and more athletic / cultural in nature – no booze cruises!
Although I have enjoyed our detour to Laos and am glad we came, I am looking forward to continuing on our motorcycle trip through Vietnam. The riding in Laos has been absolutely incredible, but our tourist stops have been just that. Touristy. Tomorrow we will make a run for the Vietnam border and hope that re-entry is as easy as leaving !
Live Life Epic 