Travel Blog Chapter 19: Nong Khiaw

It was early morning when I unloaded my backpack into the boot of a minibus. Inside the bus there were a few other travelers going to Nong Kiaw as well. From what I gathered talking to the tour operator, Nong Khiaw was one of the more beautiful places to go to. The people inside the minibus would be part of our trekking team eventually. I was the only Asian and I think initially they thought I was Japanese with my beard and all. The journey was very pleasant with scenic sights along the way. We stopped a few times for the driver to smoke and for us to relieve ourselves before stopping at an eatery for lunch. The journey would take around 3 hours which was pretty short considering all the other bus rides I have taken. At the eatery I got to know the Americans better and also a Austrian gutsy lady who was traveling around the world on her own for a year. After talking to her I found out the estimated cost to do such a trip which was a sum of around 20000 euros.

On the way to Nong Khiaw

Passing through villages

Driver stopping to "take 5"

Hitting the road

Eventually we arrived at Nong Khiaw which was supposedly a town but look more like a village. The entire town according to the Americans looked like an old western ghost town. Phil and Wes, the Americans as well as Heidi the Austrian backpacker together with a British, an Australian and eventually a Swiss gathered together for an afternoon drink and spent our afternoon playing this card game that was pretty fun and interesting called "Shithead". We have heard of the main attraction in Nong Khiaw known as the Hundred Waterfalls and we were all eager to hike up to this place.The problem was that it was pretty expensive if we were to do it in a small group with it being more cost effective if we could find more people to join us. As luck would have it, our small group was joined by a couple of more backpackers. This was one of the most interesting demographics with 2 doctors, a medical student, a linguist, engineer and an educator to name a few. Eventually we were set to do the hike the next day. That night we were all gathered together, this big group of us in a small cafe for dinner and had a good time getting know one another.

Preparing to set off

Our Xpedition team

Home and his father

Lazy river ride

Trekking through the forest

Wet terrain

Uneven terrain

Wes climbing up the waterfall

Home's dad amusing us with his handicraft skills

We were all staying around the vicinity and for me with the Austrian and the Americans we managed to get a good deal at one of the bungalow huts. It was pretty quaint but the toilet was a little small and I decided to switch to another lodging the next day. We were assembled at the trekking company the next morning and all of us loaded up on a small pick up which would bring us to a certain village where we would start our trek. Our local guide, Home was fluent in English and gave us a very memorable experience during the trek. His father followed us around as well and entertained us with his spontaneous handicrafts. We trekked through the villages and got to know the local culture. We had to pass through some forested areas to get to the waterfalls and at times we would be wading in the water. The group was pretty tight with each of us helping one another when any of us had problems especially when the terrain got a little tricky. I got to know the Australian who had gone up Fansipan as well on his own in one day. That was pretty gutsy and as he narrated his tale he told me that he had gotten lost and panicked as there was no reception up there. He said he saw horses and buffaloes along the way while I saw none of those things. It was a different route from the one my local guide had brought me along. After what seemed like a few hours, we arrived at the hundred waterfalls. It was a pretty amazing sight and rather spectacular. There were steps of waterfalls; hence the name. According to our guide, this trek has only been opened to the public in 2008 and was thus relatively new. I was informed as well that I may be the first Singaporean that have actually gone up this waterfall. I should have brought the Singapore flag with me.

Hundred Waterfalls

Home making sure everyone got up safely

Posing with Home and his father at the waterfall

We had our lunch at the top of the waterfall which Home and his colleagues had prepared for us. It was very tasty and we had sticky rice, a Laoatian staple. We proceeded to bathe in a mini waterfall which was very refreshing. After some rest, we headed back to the town. Along the way, Home's father continued to entertain us with his handicraft work and even brewed some tea for us. It was amazing to have him with us. For the rest of the day we relaxed and chilled out together with some of us going for a massage. We found out eventually that Home owned a massage and aroma therapy bath business as well and he specialized in foot reflexology. A very talented man. The rest of our time in Nong Khiaw was spent exploring the vicinity. Together with the Swiss and Dutch travelers we trekked to a certain deserted area where there was a river that flowed back to town. They swam while I walked back as I was not that strong a swimmer. It was an interesting confrontation with Laoatian wild life as they got bitten by leeches while I encountered a lot of giant millipedes on my way back to town. The Swiss guy was a doctor and had bought a motorcycle to cover the ground in Laos. He had even camped out in a hammock for a few nights at Kuoung Si Waterfall in Luang Prabang.

Scene out of an old west movie

View from the bridge

Soaring mountains and little islets

Another scene out of a old western movie

Classic dirt road

Posing with Wes and the brother of the groom

Loatian children

Another pic of the children

Trying to get the children to cooperate

This is hard work trying to get them together

We even had some contact time with the locals when one of them had a wedding and the brother came to introduce himself to us. We were introduced to the groom and congratulated him while some of us took photos together. At the same time, we got to interact with the Laoatian children. On an impulse, I started drawing portraits of the them and that seemed to amuse them. Nong Khiaw was all in all a satisfying trip but after a few days I decided that I needed to move on again and I left together with the Dutch girl back to Luang Prabang while the rest of the people were continuing their journeys either further up north or planning to stay a little longer. The Americans had left earlier while the Swiss would be biking to Luang Prabang. Nong Khiaw was worth the trip.