Today we're off to Nongkiaw, Nong Khiew or Nongkhiaw, (however you want to spell it) most old town's like this will typically have different spelling & a few different names.
I'm keen to leave this town & it's modern Chinese influence behind.
We saw enough of China at the start of the year & are excited to feel like were in Laos again.
I'm keen to leave this town & it's modern Chinese influence behind.
We saw enough of China at the start of the year & are excited to feel like were in Laos again.
We get a took took Ute from out the front of our guesthouse at 8am to the bus station.
We initially try to buy a bus ticket to Nongkiaw, but are told that the bus is only going to Pakmong today & we will need to get a took took the rest of the way to Nongkiaw.
We are quite early, but as other passengers arrive, it becomes clear that nearly everyone is wanting to go to Nongkiaw.
We are told to change our ticket to Nongkiaw & pay a 15,000 Kip difference to go all the way. Based on what we've read online, this is fairly common for the local bus's.
Our bus is meant to leave at 10am, we take a seat with a coffee & wait.
Tom meets a Chinese man called Anzi, who speaks good English & they spend this time chatting about our travel through China & Mongolia.
At 10am, we all board into the van & begin our journey snaking up into the mountains. It's going to be another gut churning day, though hopefully our position in the 3rd row from the front will be better than yesterday's position at the very back.
We are quite early, but as other passengers arrive, it becomes clear that nearly everyone is wanting to go to Nongkiaw.
We are told to change our ticket to Nongkiaw & pay a 15,000 Kip difference to go all the way. Based on what we've read online, this is fairly common for the local bus's.
Our bus is meant to leave at 10am, we take a seat with a coffee & wait.
Tom meets a Chinese man called Anzi, who speaks good English & they spend this time chatting about our travel through China & Mongolia.
At 10am, we all board into the van & begin our journey snaking up into the mountains. It's going to be another gut churning day, though hopefully our position in the 3rd row from the front will be better than yesterday's position at the very back.
It's quite cold, which is a strange realisation. I'm wearing a jumper & feel very grateful for it as we wind up into the foggy mountains.The roads in Laos so far are better than I expected them to be.
Land slides do seem to be a problem through the mountain ranges though & we frequently drive by the evidence of recent ones.
Immediately the driver puts on Chinese music.... yay?
It's a pleasant surprise when the predicted 4 hour journey, takes just over 3 hours & we arrive by 1am.
While I go to the toilet Tom stands guard of our bags. There's a little boy playing nearby with a hiking pole & when Tom's back is turned, he approaches in stealth mode & pokes Tom in the bum with the pointy end of the pole.
It obviously didn't hurt & Tom laughed it off. I'm so gutted that I didn't see it!
Tom, Anzi & myself, set off to walk into town, which is only a kilometre away.
We say goodbye to Anzi at the boat ramp & enquire about prices for the boat.
We're discussing whether to do the boat trip up to Muang Ngoy, it's sounding more & more appealing.
It obviously didn't hurt & Tom laughed it off. I'm so gutted that I didn't see it!
Tom, Anzi & myself, set off to walk into town, which is only a kilometre away.
We say goodbye to Anzi at the boat ramp & enquire about prices for the boat.
We're discussing whether to do the boat trip up to Muang Ngoy, it's sounding more & more appealing.
As were walking through town towards the bridge, we notice a group of 5 gum trees, which makes us stop & stare. As were speculating the trees journey to Laos, a lady approached us & asks if we would like some accommodation. She has a double room next to the river for 60,000 kip.
We agree to look at it & are very happy with the size, cleanliness & the gum trees out the front.
It's a lot nicer than the accommodation we had last night, that's for sure!
It's a lot nicer than the accommodation we had last night, that's for sure!
After checking in, we grab the DSLR & head out to photograph the town & hopefully hike up to the famous look out.
Nongkiaw is stunningly beautiful & what we've been chasing in Laos. Small rural town, with a relaxed community vibe, enough tourism to be convenient without affecting the authenticity & the bombardment of natural beauty.
The small town is nestled along a curve in the river, between mountains. The forrest is thick & dominates the direct scenery up the mountain & on the outskirts of town. Even standing on the main street, all you have to do is raise your eyes above the roof tops & you'll be able to see mountains.
The small town is nestled along a curve in the river, between mountains. The forrest is thick & dominates the direct scenery up the mountain & on the outskirts of town. Even standing on the main street, all you have to do is raise your eyes above the roof tops & you'll be able to see mountains.
We've already seen the street that the bus station & our guesthouse is on, so we cross the bridge to explore the other side of the river.
We immediately find the signs for the look out & decide to get straight into it!
We buy our tickets at the entrance for 10,000 kip each. There is some bomb casings left over from the war which are on display & some dire warnings not to leave the path or else you will find an American bomb.
We buy our tickets at the entrance for 10,000 kip each. There is some bomb casings left over from the war which are on display & some dire warnings not to leave the path or else you will find an American bomb.
I must admit, I don't know a lot about the Vietnam war or Laos involvement. Sadly, I know Laos was one of the heaviest bombed countries & there are still thousands of unexploded bombs hidden in the beautiful land. I love history, but definitely prefer ancient history as opposed to modern history. Tom knows a lot more than I do & gives me a brief summary.
We've started watching a Netflix documentary series about the Vietnam war, we both want to feel adequately informed before going to Vietnam.
The hike starts off by an information sign that says to allow 1.5 hours for completion, however, taunts that the locals do the hike in 40 minutes. We're both not at our prime physical fitness, however, we give it a red hot go.
The path is dirt, with some attempts to create steps. Erosion from rain is obviously a problem for Laos & in places a lot of the steps have been entirely washed away.
We stop every few minutes to catch our breath & admire the scenery. There are lots of small reptiles in the leaf litter, spiders & butterflies.
It's really really beautiful!
The hike starts off by an information sign that says to allow 1.5 hours for completion, however, taunts that the locals do the hike in 40 minutes. We're both not at our prime physical fitness, however, we give it a red hot go.
The path is dirt, with some attempts to create steps. Erosion from rain is obviously a problem for Laos & in places a lot of the steps have been entirely washed away.
We stop every few minutes to catch our breath & admire the scenery. There are lots of small reptiles in the leaf litter, spiders & butterflies.
It's really really beautiful!
When we reach the sign that says were only half way.... urghhhhh! I was not feeling thrilled! I was hoping we would nearly be at the top.
Oh well. As it turns out, the first part is normally the worst part & the second half felt less exhausting & strenuous. Even though the terrain became rougher & in 6 different places, ropes were used to pull ourselves up & provide stability.
Finally, after 70 minutes we reached the top & my gosh, what a view!
We could see a 360 view of the town, the river & the nearby mountains.
It was worth every ache, every swear word & every drop of sweat. We stayed up here for about 40 minutes, before we started to get cold from our sweat soaked clothes & impending darkness.
It was worth every ache, every swear word & every drop of sweat. We stayed up here for about 40 minutes, before we started to get cold from our sweat soaked clothes & impending darkness.
We started to make our way down, which was much quicker, but felt more treacherous on fatigued legs. We made it down after 45minutes & started heading along the sealed road towards town.
On our way we assessed the restaurant menus that we passed by. We had nearly made it to the bridge, when Tom spotted an Indian restaurant & a sign with pictures for a thali.
It's not really What we would go for in a SE Asian country, but there was something so promising about the satisfaction gained from eating a thali after that big hike.
We weren't wrong! The thali was delicious & very satisfying! Exactly what we needed before stumbling the rest of the way back to our home under the gum trees, showering, stretching & collapsing into bed.
- Alli
It's not really What we would go for in a SE Asian country, but there was something so promising about the satisfaction gained from eating a thali after that big hike.
We weren't wrong! The thali was delicious & very satisfying! Exactly what we needed before stumbling the rest of the way back to our home under the gum trees, showering, stretching & collapsing into bed.
- Alli
No comments:
Post a Comment