Floating down river
We rose fairly early this morning, and we met Jonathan and Mischa outside of the apartment rooms. The 4 of us made our way towards the boat to Nong Khiaw, this was located at the river where we visited yesterday. We had some breakfast along the way, nothing too special though. When we got to the boat, we saw several of the folks from bus we were with yesterday too. In total, there were around 20 people who were taking the boat to Nong Khiaw, or getting off at the town before.
The majority of people were Westerners, which meant they were larger than your average Asian. This in turn meant there was next to no room to put your legs. The journey consisted of 5 hours slowly sailing down the river, the drone of the engine sending you half deaf. I must admit, the views were spectacular and very peaceful too, there was only the occasional fisherman or other boat. We had several breaks to stretch our legs and relieve ourselves, they were much needed.
Out and in
A good amount of time into our journey, and we came upon a huge dam. I’d seen this on TV before, a dam the Chinese were building on the Mekong River in Laos. As there was no way to get through, we had to moor the boat and unload all of the bags. There was a van that would take us in 2 groups. We were in the latter group, so we had to wait around and pass some time. Mischa and I offered some sweets to some local kids who were watching, they took a liking to them! After a while, the van came back and took us up the narrow and cliff-edge road, to the other side where we’d embark on another boat.
We also spoke to a Russian fellow called Vladimir (of course) who had been travelling for a while, and would be for quite some more time around South East Asia, and then South America. There were mountains on both sides of us on this stretch of the river, it truly was a sight to behold. The boat stopped at Muang Ngoi, and quite a lot of people disembarked the boat to Nong Khiaw to stay here, this included Jonathan. We said goodbye and wished each other well.
New kids in town
After about another hour on the river, we arrived in Nong Khiaw. Once we got off, the first thing we looked for was food. The food we had was very tasty, as well as a refreshing drink. The guy from the bar told us of nearby places to stay, so we headed down the street looking for a hostel. As we were on the way, we bumped into Vlad and a German guy called Jannis. Coincidentally, they were staying at the place we were heading, so we carried on a little and checked in. The hostel we stayed at was called Delilahs, check it out here. It was a proper chilled out hostel, nicely furnished and plenty of facilities.
As it hit late evening, we decided to go for a walk, and heard there was a bar down the road, heading out of town. This was a ‘Happy Bar’, which is code named for ‘we sell drugs’. It’s true, you were able to buy weed, as well as a magic mushroom infused milkshake. Judging by the people around us, it was good stuff! While we were here, we bumped into one of the Israeli lads from the Laos bus…these people keep popping up! Mat, Mischa, and I played some cards, namely Rummy and Shithead, whilst enjoying a nice smoothie.
All the stars are coming out tonight
This was a small town, and pretty much no lights after dark. As we walked back, we looked up and could see the night sky, and all the stars it engulfed. It’s one of the first times I’d seen it like this. Not very often can you see this in the UK or cities, due to the light pollution. It was so simple, but so incredible at the same time. We managed to find the bus station and the timetable for tomorrow as we’re moving on towards Luang Prabang.
When we reached the hostel, Vlad and Jannis were sat outside. We decided to join them and sat around talking and drinking for a few hours. It was a great atmosphere, and I enjoyed the chat. Jannis also recommended climbing a nearby mountain to see the sunrise tomorrow morning. The 3 of us plus Vlad were game, so we headed in for an early night!
