The Perfect Place

Muang Ngoi Neua. That's the perfect place. When you decide to travel to SE Asia you imagine remote villages, with no roads full of friendly locals, where you can relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the area and eat some good food. Then you get here and its just tourist everywhere, with modern conveniences and that little dream dies a bit. Then you go to Lao and your heart perks up a bit. Then you take a bud up to Nong Kiew, then take a boat to Muang Ngoi Neua since there are no roads connecting teh two, and then you've found the perfect place. Muang Ngoi is about 6-7 hours up river from Luang Prabang. It has one main street and only has power from 6:30-9:30. After that its just up to the moon and your flashlight. There are no roads which means that there are no cars or motorbikes, and therefore no Honking.

The bus ride was interesting, in Lao they seem to be able to fit as many people as needed on the public buses, so if you want a good seat, you better arrive early. We waited in Nong Kiew for a bit, enough time to chat with some fellow travelers, and have a BeerLao. I met up with two Swedes named Petter and Christina, A Norwegian named Petter (I know we had a Peter and two Petters, crazy), an English bloke named Paul, and this crazy German named Rafael. So we crammed onto the boat and headed to Muang Ngoi. Now the only accommodation is these Bamboo huts, and they run about $1 a night. The town is tiny. Once settled into my hut on the riverfront, I heard some familiar voices, and realized that this Canadian couple I had met in Nha Trang was in the Bungalow right beside mine.

The first night we all just hung out, and when the power went out we ate by candle light. The moon was a waxing gibbous moon, so it was bright enough to see by, and I just sat in my hammock and watched the stars and mountains before heading to bed. The next day some of us went tubing, but unlike Vang Vieng there were no bars along the way. Just us, the Mountains, and the water, you couldn't ask for a more serene atmosphere. After a bit we were afraid the guy had taken us too far upriver and that it would be hours before we got back, but we managed to reach home in 2 hours so that was kind of nice. We celebrated our journey by going from street stall to street stall trying all these different dishes. One of the best was this girl making Papaya Salad, and man it was the best Papaya salad I've had to far. Catherine had brought a bag of peanuts which we asked to be added, and the girl said if we came back tomorrow she's bring some peanuts for us (which she did). We then had some hammock time, and then a nice dinner before heading down to the bonfire at the beach.



The next day was probably the best of all. We walked out of town to go towards the caves. No one was at the caves so it took us awhile to find the right entrance. WE had to wade into the water a bit, and then try to discover the right path, as there were no markings anywhere. I'm still shocked they let people into that place alone. A lot of the time we were walking across slippery rocks with 10 ft. drops on either side. The cave eventually ended with an 8 ft drop into the water below, but as there was no discernable way out, we decided to head back. That's when we got lost. Turns out we were walking in circles, and after realizing this tried to find another path. We went up one way, and finally saw a crack of daylight off in the distance. I have to say we were all a little relieved. I wouldn't say I was afraid, but we were all getting a little nervous. We went for a quick swim in cave entrance, and then walked to the next village for some food.



The next village was about 30 minutes away, and in the middle of some rice paddies. You have to wonder how they get their supplies, since the path we took is the only route, and it's not on the river. After lunch we wanted to see the waterfalls, so we walked to Ban Ha village which was another 30 minutes away. We soon reached the village only to be told that the water fall was 60 minutes away! We walked around town a bit and then found some local kids playing in the stream, and they took us to a smaller waterfall where we could cool off. We ended up hiking for over 6 hours, but it was nice to be able to do it without a guide, and without really any plan, but then that’s what makes Lao so great. We were all pretty tired, so we bought a few (5) bottles of Lao wine, and drank the lot by the moon light.

After that active day we decided to just lounge around the next day, so we went to the beach and swam the day away. We then went to the bonfire and there were a group of Lao kids playing the guitar and singing Lao songs, it was quite a night, and it wasn't even ruined by the free Lao Whiskey they were passing around. I was leaving the next day, while Petter, Raf, and Paul were going to try and go further North. It was tough to say goodbye to them, as they were really fun travelling partners, but unfortunately they just came from Thailand, and that's where I was heading next. It was also tough to leave Muang Ngoi, but I was getting itchy feet to start moving again, and I had heard about this Gibbon Conservation area, so I wanted to check that out before heading to Thailand.