Heading to my last stop in Laos

After my three days in Luang Prabang, my journey continued to my last stop in Laos: Nong Khiaw. At 10 o’clock in the morning I was picked up by the tuk tuk at the hostel together with a few others. We were then taken to the bus stop. There it turned out that most of us were German. So far I haven’t met many Germans in Asia and especially in Laos. But then on the way to a very rural place, we suddenly all came together.

We chatted a bit and it turned out that most of us had booked the same hostel as well. In fact, there are only guesthouses and one hostel in Nong Khiaw, which had just opened.

The bus ride went relatively well. The minivan was full of us backpackers and nobody had to sit on a stool. After three hours we arrived at the bus stop in Nong Khiaw. It was still 2 kilometers to the hostel, which most of us didn’t want to walk with our luggage in the heat. But there wasn’t a tuk tuk to be seen anywhere. It was then clear to us that we definitely had to walk. Luckily a TukTuk arrived suddenly. The trip cost 10 000 kip per person (€0.50), which we were of course happy to pay.

The TukTuk driver then took us to our hostel. He dropped us off at the street and from there we had to walk 150 meters to the accommodation. A sign also showed us this. When we arrived there, we were warmly welcomed by the owner Sammie. He also cracked a lot of jokes and made us laugh.

Arrived at the accommodation

He then showed us our rooms. I ended up in a really nice and spacious six bed room with no bunk beds. After checking in, he told us something about the two-day trekking tour. I had planned to do this anyway, which is why I booked it directly with three other Germans and a boy from the US.

Afterwards we went to get something to eat. We walked down the street looking for a nice restaurant. Finally we saw a few people we had already seen at the hostel at an Indian restaurant. So we sat there too and ordered something to eat. Even though there weren’t many people in the restaurant, we waited probably an hour for our food. But this was very tasty.

The first hike in Nong Khiaw

After lunch we made our way back to the hostel. There we all changed into our hiking clothes because we wanted to hike to a viewpoint at sunset. After we had all changed, we set off. We followed Google Maps to the path that would eventually lead up to the viewpoint. There was a hiking trail behind the Indian restaurant that we took. We followed the relatively flat path for a while, but were surprised that we couldn’t find the entrance to the path up.

We asked a few locals and they said we had to continue following the path. But since we were sure that they didn’t understand us and were simply pointing in any direction, we didn’t put much trust in the whole thing. We finally checked Maps.me and it turned out we should have turned earlier.

Back on the main road we saw the entrance to the viewpoint, which was right next to the path we had taken. So we paid 20 000 kip entry and then made our way up. The climb was supposed to take 30 minutes and since the sun was already starting to set, we had to hurry up a bit. The other four I was with sprinted straight ahead, while I stayed a little behind and managed the way up alone.

On the way up to the Viewpoint

The path was much more pleasant to walk than the paths to the viewpoints in Vang Vieng. It was a bit slippery but not that dangerous. Halfway there, I grabbed the railing and grabbed straight into a caterpillar. This one was pretty prickly though, so all the prickles got stuck in my thumb. Of course, I had to remove them first before I could go any further.

The way up ended up taking less than 30 minutes. When I got to the top, the others had already been up there for a while. The view from up there over the mountains, the river and the town of Nong Khiaw was really beautiful. Especially since the sun was setting. We enjoyed the view and watched the sun slowly disappear behind the mountains. Shortly before the sun went down completely, we made our way back so that we didn’t have to go down in the dark.

The way down was quite slippery. Something I didn’t really notice on the way up. But I didn’t want to hold on to the railing either, because I didn’t want to grab a caterpillar again. Finally, I held on to a tree and of course grabbed directly into a caterpillar. So I had to remove all of the spikes before we could go any further.

Dinner time

We arrived at the bottom pretty quickly and made our way back to the hostel. There we changed and after a short break we went to dinner. We went to the Indian restaurant again. But it looked pretty busy, so we knew we would be waiting quite a while for our food. So we first looked around for another restaurant. Ultimately, the Indian restaurant was the one visited by most people. And it was also the cheapest in terms of price.

So we decided we didn’t care about the long wait and we would eat there. We ended up waiting for an hour, but in that hour we were able to have a good chat and get to know each other better. After all, we would spend the next two days together on the trekking tour.

After dinner we made our way back to the hostel, where we all went to sleep very quickly to be fit for the hike in the morning.

Starting the two days trekking tour

The next morning we packed our things for one night and were all ready for the hike at 9 am. We were then picked up by a TukTuk. Before we were taken to the walking trail from which we started the hike, we picked up three other people. The TukTuk ride took 10 minutes. We were dropped off directly at the walking trail and started the hike at half past ten with our guide.

Luckily it was cloudy, which meant it wasn’t quite as warm. Nevertheless, it was extremely warm and we were all already sweating very quickly. The path we took went through the rice fields so we had a nice view. It went up and down every now and then, which made it a bit tiring, especially since the muddy ground was very damp and slippery. We were all relatively fit, which is why we made quick progress.

After two hours of hiking, we arrived in a small village that can’t even be found on Google Maps. By now we had already hiked 6 of the 14 kilometers that we had to do that day. We then had our lunch in this small village. We were given rice and vegetables. The Village was actually really interesting. There were chickens and dogs running around everywhere. The puppies in particular were extremely cute. Children were playing everywhere and the locals were working or sitting in front of their houses. It was really nice to experience traditional life in a tiny village in Laos.

Continuing the hike through the jungle

After lunch our hike continued. Now we faced the most difficult part through the jungle. First we hiked uphill for a while. Of course, in the heat we all immediately started sweating again. It was also very slippery due to the mud. Since my shoes were a bit older and therefore very worn, I didn’t have as good a grip as everyone else and so I kept slipping. This meant it took me longer than everyone else. But our guide had already given me a bamboo stick, which made it a little easier for me not to fall. But the view of nature on the way up was so incredibly beautiful.

After an hour we finally reached the top. From there we didn’t really have a view of the landscape as we were in the middle of the jungle. We took a break there for a while before venturing down the slippery path down. There we also met the group that did the three day trek. Funnily enough, most of the people in the group were also German.

After half an hour we continued the hike. The descent should take 1.5 hours in total. Right from the start, the path was extremely slippery and I walked very slowly and had to hold on everywhere to avoid falling. Our guide walked behind me the whole time. I was then able to hold on to his hand. Because I was the only one who kept slipping because of her bad shoes, I of course stopped everyone.

Having interesting conversations with Tan

Finally the guide decided that we would let everyone pass and they would then walk to our homestay with the guide from the other group. I quickly lost sight of everyone else and I and the guide Tan stayed behind. I really don’t know how everyone else managed not to slip on the extremely muddy ground. It wasn’t even like they had extremely good hiking shoes.

But in the end I had something like a private tour. I didn’t have to wait for anyone and no one waited for me. I also talked to Tan the whole time. He told me how he got his name, why he calls himself Mr. Bee as a guide, that he had a TukTuk accident a few years ago because the driver fell asleep and a lot about his work as a local guide in Laos. It was very interesting and Tan was very likeable.

I was glad he helped me with the slippery descent and made sure I didn’t fall. Before we got to the bottom, we came across a trickle coming from the mountains. I tried to wash my now extremely dirty shoes in the water. We followed the water further down. At one point the path was blocked by water. I tried to get through there over stones without getting my shoes wet, but then I accidentally stepped into the water.

From that point on, I didn’t care. I stepped in mud and then in water again. It couldn’t get any worse anyway. Finally we arrived at the bottom of the rice field. I was visibly relieved. Of course, everyone else had long since moved on. I looked at the time and expected it to have taken me at least two hours to get down. In the end it turned out that I had only managed 1.5 hours, as Tan had said before.

The last kilometers to the Guesthouse

We then followed the path further through the rice fields. It should now be another 1.5 hours walk to the guesthouse. Since I was already quite far behind, I walked a little faster from now on to catch up a bit. The path through the rice fields was really beautiful. The view was great and it was pretty quiet there. No one else was there except for the occasional local. The path was significantly better than the descent through the jungle. Every now and then it got pretty muddy and I had to walk slowly to avoid slipping.

After 1.5 hours, which actually went by very quickly. In the distance we could then see the village where we would spend the night. We could also see that the others had just arrived. We were a bit surprised because we expected everyone else to have already checked in and showered. As soon as we arrived at the village, we met everyone else. They confirmed to us that they had just arrived. But they probably took a longer break, while I didn’t take a break at all.

Together with our guide we then went to our homestay for the night. The village we were in was very similar to the village where we had lunch. Tan showed us our room. It was a simple room with a couple of beds. The beds were very basic and quite hard. There was a bathroom in the back of the room. But we didn’t have more than one toilet in the floor. The shower was outside and we had to share it with the locals from the village.

While a few of us took a shower, a few others went for a swim in the river. Afterwards we had dinner. Again we were given rice and vegetables. After dinner, the owners of the homestay all gave us bands on our left and right arms. These ribbons were supposed to bring us luck. After that we played a few more rounds of cards and then we went to bed exhausted.

Day 2 of trekking

Our next morning started with our breakfast. We got fruit, rice and omelette. After breakfast we packed up all the rest of our things and then stepped into our soaking wet shoes, which wasn’t really pleasant.

Behind the guesthouse we were then picked up by boat on the river. This boat continued up the river and took us to Muang Ngoi, a small village right on the river. The boat ride took half an hour. We enjoyed the ride across the water before starting the next hike.

When we arrived in Muang Ngoi half an hour later, we were dropped off directly at the Pha Noi Viewpoint. After we were all off the boat, we then headed straight to hike to the top of the mountain. The way was already much better than the way the day before. The path was muddy but there were a lot more rocks and mostly steps. There was also a railing to hold on to.

After less than ten minutes of walking, we took a break in front of a cave. Tan said that we had already done more than half. We then continued our hike quite quickly. The path now became a little more difficult over the steep stones and the many ladders we climbed. Nevertheless, after a few minutes we were at the top of the viewpoint. Although it was cloudy, we were all completely sweaty again.

Exploring the beautiful cave in Muang Ngoi

The view over the river, nature and the village of Muang Ngoi was really beautiful. We took a few pictures and a short break there before we ventured back down the steep path. Halfway there we stopped again at the cave. We left our backpacks and drinking bottles in front of the cave and then went inside the cave. I didn’t have high expectations since I had seen so many caves, but this one was really beautiful.

There was no developed path for tourists, which made the cave seem much more undiscovered. We had to make light with our own flashlights. The ceiling was quite high and we kept finding large, spectacular stalactites that glittered. We walked about 200 meters into the cave until we turned around again because we couldn’t go any further.

Back at the exit, we all grabbed our backpacks and climbed the remaining meters back down. Once we reached the bottom, we continued the hike to the village of Muang Ngoi. We explored this by walking a small route through it. This village was also quite similar to the villages we had seen the day before.

After exploring the village, we went back to the boat pier, where our boat was already waiting for us. We boarded and were then taken to a village called Sob Kong. The boat trip also took half an hour. When we arrived at Sob Kong village, we all got off the boat and sat straight into a small hut where we were served our lunch. Our guide had brought us rice with an omelette, packed in small packages made of leaves. The rice actually tasted really good.

The last hike to the waterfall

After the lunch break, we had our last hike ahead of us. We now went to a waterfall that was near the village. Luckily the hike wasn’t strenuous. There were a few ups and downs every now and then, but mainly we walked through the rice fields. The view of the green rice fields was really beautiful. The advantage of traveling to Laos in the wet season is actually that all the rice fields are nice and green and not dry.

After walking for a while we saw a small stream with occasional small waterfalls on our way. Now it couldn’t be far to the waterfall. We crossed the large amount of water, but unfortunately our half-dried shoes didn’t stay dry, and followed the stream up. Finally we arrived at a beautiful waterfall. I thought that we had now reached our destination, but next to this waterfall there was still a small path leading up. We then continued following this path and a few meters later we arrived at the main waterfall.

Here we could relax or swim in the water. The waterfall was really beautiful and I liked it much more than the waterfall in Luang Prabang. But this was probably because the water here was blue and we were the only people there.

After our break at Tad Mook Waterfall, we headed back to Sob Kong Village. On the way there, however, we stopped at an organic farm. There we all ordered a drink and enjoyed the view of nature in this quiet place.

Finishing the trek in Nong Khiaw

After our stop at the organic farm, it was time to return to the boat. We walked the last part through the rice fields and finally arrived back in the village of Sob Kong. There we were picked up by the boat and taken back to Nong Khiaw. The journey took another 30 minutes. When we arrived in Nong Khiaw it was almost 5 pm in the afternoon. From the boat pier we then walked the remaining meters back to our guesthouses.

Some of us went on the bus that evening. The others stayed in different guesthouses and took the bus the next morning. However, I stayed two more nights because I wanted to see a bit more from Nong Khiaw and I didn’t feel like traveling on the next morning after the two-day tour.

We were really lucky with the weather for the entire two days of the tour. It didn’t rain, only at night and it was partly very cloudy. This meant that the already strenuous journey through the blazing sun didn’t become even more strenuous.

Slow mornings in Nong Khiaw

I started the next day relaxed. I slept in first and didn’t set an alarm that morning. After I woke up, I stayed in bed for a while. Afterwards I went out to buy some new mosquito spray and some fruit. After my little shopping, I went to breakfast. I chose a small café not far from my hostel. It was pretty quiet and beautiful. The food was really good.

After breakfast I went back to the hostel. The only activity I had planned for that day was hiking up to the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint. The hike up there should take a total of 1.5 hours.

I then spent the morning in the hostel. In the meantime, I set out to visit a cave that was a few hundred meters behind the hostel. However, I didn’t find the cave and so I turned back.

One last viewpoint in Laos

At half past two I set out to start my hike. I bought another large bottle of water and then went to the entrance of the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint. Admission to the viewpoint was 30K Kip. At the ticket counter there was a sign saying that under no circumstances should you stray from the path, as there are still many unexploded bombs from the Vietnam War in this area.

After buying the ticket, I started my hike. I had planned extra time because I didn’t know how slippery and dangerous the path would be. I also wanted to be back down by sunset at the latest. The first part of the hike was actually very relaxed. There were a lot of steps up, but they weren’t slippery or dangerous at all. At first I thought that only the beginning was so easy to master, but it went like this for a while.

I took a lot of breaks as it was quite hot. In addition, the sun had been shining all day and the path was not always covered in shade. I listened to a podcast during the climb, which made the hike much easier. After walking for a while, the path was still very passable. So it was also clear to me that the descent wouldn’t be very dangerous and that I wouldn’t need that much time for it. So I took my time on the climb, drank a lot and took a break every now and then.

„You are now halfway“

After 36 minutes of walking, I came to a sign that told me I was halfway there. Every now and then the path became a little more dangerous and I had to climb over a few stones and hold on tight. However, these were only small parts and the rest of the way was very manageable.

During the climb, I couldn’t see over the city, the view was mostly hidden by trees. Shortly before the finish there was a sign that told me that it was only 200 meters to the viewpoint. From there it was no longer a steep climb. Every now and then there were a few steps, but the path was mostly flat. However, in some places the path was a bit wet and slippery, so I had to walk a little more carefully. When I was finally close to the viewpoint, I still had to climb over a few stones and then after 1 hour and 20 minutes of walking I was finally at the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint.

Enjoying the 360 degrees view

I was all alone up there and the view was truly breathtaking. From this viewpoint I had a 360 degree view of Nong Khiaw, the river that flows through Nong Khiaw and the surrounding landscapes. The climb was really worth it. I would have liked to stay until sunset, but I didn’t want to walk back alone in the dark.

After spending 45 minutes at the viewpoint, I made my way down. The first part was the most difficult as it was a bit muddier. The further I got down, the better the path became. I had been somewhat apprehensive about the hike all morning and wasn’t sure if I should actually go up to Nong Khiaw Viewpoint. Ultimately, I wanted to at least give it a try.

Because the path was very easy to walk and I was alone and could set my own pace, the hike was very relaxed. It was particularly worth it for the view. It took me a total of an hour to go down. I didn’t take any breaks but I walked very slowly and carefully. I was downstairs shortly before six o’clock. Before I went back to the hostel, I bought some fruit again. I crossed the bridge over the river and was able to watch the sunset there.

Finally I made my way back to the hostel. There I showered and packed my things because the next morning I was supposed to continue my journey to Thailand.

If you would like to know what I experienced at my first stop in Thailand and how the border crossing went, then please read my next blog post Temple hopping in Chiang Rai – Thailand Travel Diary.