Muang Ngoi

I was told that if I wanted some beautiful scenery, fewer tourists and a nice hammock to relax in, I should head up to Muong Ngoi, to the north of Luang Prabang. So, I set off early one morning to catch the 8:30 bus to Nong Kiaow, where boats leave for Muang Ngoi. (No roads to Muang Ngoi... boats only!)

I grabbed a tuk tuk to the bus station and was dropped off in front of a sawngthaew, which is a pickup truck with benches running along the two sides of the back and a covered metal frame on top (for piling tons of stuff on top of). When I arrived, they pointed me to the ticket window and then I headed back to the truck, which looked like it was bursting at the seams. There was a bit of miscommunication, but then I was ushered to the back and told to get in after people moved aside enough to give me about a cheek's worth of room. Not only were there people on the benches along the side, but there were also several wooden chairs set up in the middle of things with several people, and a couple of kids were perched on top of random crates and containers in the middle. There was one non-Asia couple already squeezed into the other side of the truck, but we were the only non-Laotians there.

Eventually, we set off and I counted everyone. We had 17 adults and 5 kids just in the back. And several big containers with gasoline in them and other random baskets and things. I started to chat with the couple across the way (she's Italian, he's Israeli), and they were equally incredulous as to how many people fit in the truck. After about 45 minutes, we slowed down long enough to let two more people in; the guy next to me squeezed closer to me, and he patted the seat on the other side of him, signaling to one of the new guys that he should sit there. The newly created spot was about the size of my hand, but sure enough, the guy was able to slowly but surely work his backside into the space. 19 adults, 7 kids.

After about 2 hours, the truck finally stopped and was turned off. My eyes lit up, and I asked the guy next to me if we had finally arrived to Nong Kiaow. He shook his head no. It was just a break, so I got out to stretch. When I asked how much longer, he signaled that it would be another two hours. My legs and knees were already pretty stiff from being wedged against a kid and a big plastic container, so I suppressed an inward groan at the thought of another two hours. Sitting across from me were two very old Laotian men; it seemed that one of them was over 80 (who knows - maybe even in his 90's), and the other may have been in his 70s. Complaining about my stiff 20something joints (even inwardly) made me feel a bit like a wuss in comparison to those two.

Eventually we arrived to the river town where our next boat left from, and thankfully, it was only one more hour on the sawngthaew after our pit stop. The narrow boat that took us to Muang Ngoi just a few hours later was equally overloaded. I overheard a Spaniard on the boat describe the Laos phenomenon (that seems to be the case in Guatemala, as well...) that just when you think that nothing else will fit into whatever vehicle you're in, they managed to double the number of people and things on board. So true!

While on the boat, I was treated to some beautiful scenery - mountains, greenery, fishermen, calm waters. About an hour into the ride, we pulled over, and half of us were instructed to get off the boat to walk while the boat went through a shallow part of the river. We walked for about twenty minutes or so, and it was quite pleasant. It helped me to rationalize that it wasn't necessary to do any trekking while I was in town.

Once we finally arrived (about an hour and 45 minutes after we started on our "1-hour boat ride"), I grabbed my bag and headed down the main street. The scenery was stunning! Dirt road through town with every second or third building advertising either bungalows, food, or random household necessities, with mountains in the background and a river to one side.

I headed down to the end of the road and got a cute bungalow with a hammock out front (its most important accessory!) for just over $2. I changed after a night because the bed was hard as a rock, but my second bungalow was also cute and had a hammock and river views. I moved away from my hammock for about an hour or two during the days to walk around town a little bit, but more than anything, I relaxed (and finished a book!).

Wandering around town, I saw millions of little chicks and baby ducks ... perhaps us tourists aren't eating enough eggs! Or maybe it's just bird mating season... who knows? But everywhere you looked, there were little things running around. Weaving looms were also set up in front of several houses, and it wasn't just for the benefit of the tourists - in fact, they didn't seem to sell textiles anywhere in town. It is definitely a tiny town, though, and I bet that no more than 20-30 tourists arrive a day. No electricity - just a few precious hours of generator energy every evening. Just serenity and beautiful nature. I was quite shocked to see a peanut butter and banana baguette on the menu of my guesthouse's restaurant, as that didn't really seem to fit in with everything, but then I was pleasantly relieved that true North American creature comforts hadn't quite made their way to the small town - when I got my sandwich, it was a baguette smeared with butter, sprinkled with crushed peanuts and topped off with banana slices.

The second evening, I ran into the two Canadians I shared a room with at the Thai/Laos border a week beforehand, and we agreed to catch up over a beer later on. It of course decided to pour down rain right when we were supposed to meet, so I donned my rain jacket and ran down the street to find them at a restaurant with an Aussie guy they'd met. They told me about a hare-brained plan they'd come up with and were setting into action. They bought a canoe and some paddles and were going to attempt to paddle down stream, all the way to Luang Prabang. This is a journey that's meant to take about 8 hours WITH A MOTOR. They were hoping to arrive in two days, maybe three. I nearly jumped on board (literally and figuratively) but decided against it at the last minute, as I remembered the nightly rainstorms we'd had since I arrived to Laos. That, and they were setting off the next morning at 6am.

Long story short (sorry, too late), then next morning, I heard my name being yelled from a restaurant close to the dock, and lo and behold, it was them! It was closing in on 9:30am, so headed up there to get the scoop.

They'd set out at 7am or so and gotten about 500m downstream before their boat sprung a leak. So they walked their boat upstream and found someone to repair it. They were going to head off shortly after breakfast, but they'd changed their destination to the less-lofty goal of Nong Kiaow, just about four hours downstream. I haven't heard from them, so I hope they made it somewhere or another without tipping the boat and without injuries!

The ride back to Luang Prabang was similar to the ride out of town, except all of the Laos people were replaced by mostly backpackers and we managed to shove about 25 adults in the back of the truck - and I thought it could never be done! This country will never cease to amaze me.