Nong Khiaw is a small rural town in the hills of northern Laos. It was the second stop on our Laos trip. For greater context of our trip and decisions to visit Laos, see the first paragraph on our post of Luang Prabang. While the drive from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw is only 140 km, the drive took 4 hours by minivan. Even the main highways in Laos are riddled with potholes, and are sometimes not paved in areas. The driver is constantly dodging people on foot, mopeds, tuk tuks, and livestock. Main roads pass through small villages where children play in the middle of the street, only to scatter when the driver beeps their horn and zooms by. The vast majority of Laos is very rural and the scenery of jagged mountains jutting up in every direction make for beautiful rides between towns.
Nong Khiaw is a great place to visit, as it is a prime example of a typical Laotian town. While Luang Prabang was one of our favorite towns, you can definitely tell a large part of the town is sustained by tourism. The extent of tourism in Nong Khiaw is a few guest houses, and a couple ecotourism outfits to explore the amazing surrounding landscape. Most residents seemed to be going about their life farming, cooking, and working hard just to get by. It is a place that will make you extra grateful for a privileged western lifestyle. The majority of houses are rough CMU wall structures with corrugated metal roofs, open windows, and dirt floors. The irony is that technology seemed to jump a generation in Laos. Even though living situations are haphazard, most people have cellphones and most places have Wifi. In fact what seemed to be the biggest attempt to draw people to their restaurants, were ads for “Free Wifi”. It was interesting to note that most small restaurants were attached to or a part of someone’s house, and it was common for your server to be a child while the parent cooked in the kitchen. In Nong Khiaw we went to dinner at a place like this called Alex. While it was rough around the edges, it was some of the best Lao food we had all trip.
We stayed at the Ban Lao Sunset Bangalows across the Nam Ou river from the main part of town. While there many not be a whole lot to do in Nong Khiaw, it’s hard to beat sitting in a hammock on your front porch with a Beer Lao overlooking the river. One of the main attractions in town is to trek 2 km up a steep hill to the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint. With hot humid weather, even a 2 km hike can make you sweat like you wouldn’t believe. At the base of the hill, there is a ticket stand with a huge hollowed out US bomb holding walking sticks. Painted on the side of the bomb says “Nong Khiaw, one of the most bombing areas in Laos 1964-1973.” Above the bomb is a sign that says “Don’t get off the path, unexploded bombs still in this area, dangerous.” This was one of the countless reminders during our trip, of the war that severely impacted Laos. The view from the top of the hike makes you instantly realize the draw of coming to Nong Khiaw. In every direction there are jagged limestone mountains that seem straight out of a fictional story.
Another fantastic activity in Nong Khiaw, that we took advantage of in other towns as well, was renting mountain bikes for a few dollars per day, and exploring the surrounding areas. It is a great way to get around faster and experience the sights and smells along the way. We rode through small villages where children would run out to yell “sabaidee!” (hello) in exchange for high fives. On our ride in Nong Khiaw, we stopped at the Pathok Caves. They are a beautiful extensive set of caves where villagers took refuge from explosions during the Second Indochina War. The war lasted for so long, that the town set up official offices, banks, schools, etc. in the various cave rooms. While we explored the caves, we were the only ones there which gave it a peaceful yet eerie feel. It was heavy to imagine the caves full of locals, who for years inhabited them out of fear for their safety. Further along our bike ride, we explored other waterfalls and areas. At each stop, you would leave your bikes with a local at a ticket stand who would watch them while you explored. It was very comforting to know how overall honest and trustworthy people are in Laos.
Two nights in Nong Khiaw felt like a good amount, yet we could imagine how easy it would be to waste days here relaxing. Another common attraction is to take a long boat up the river to the small village Muang Ngoi. This is a common backpackers destination and good place to let a few lazy days slip by.