Up the Nam Ou

We were tired of buses and being on the "tourist trail" so we broke out and took a trip up the Nam Ou river which is a tributary of the Mekong. We were determined to make a loop of northern Laos with a combination of boats and buses. It turned out to be the best of our trip to SE Asia as we were able to visit several small villages not often seen by other tourists.

We clamber down the banks of the Mekong to find our “river bus” which is a brightly painted canoe on steroids with wood canopy top. We walk a narrow plank up from the sandy beach and settle in to the rough wooden chairs. The boat eventually leaves the dock, reving its engines to fight its way into the current and begin our journey up the Mekong. The smoky morning haze from slash and burn stings our eyes and throat. The river is a glassy brown pool shifting with currents that swirl and whirl around the boat as we pass.

The "river bus"

There is a palpable sense of excitement as our boat makes the transition from the muddy brown of the Mekong to the azure blue of the Nam Ou as we pass the confluence. Soon the boat noses gently into the soft sand of the left bank for a short toilet break. The opposite bank is a sheer limestone kharst soaring at least 1500 feet into the smoke filled morning sky. Soon we continue up the river through a dramatic landscape of giant walls.



After several hours, with backsides aching from too much contact with the rough wooden chairs, we arrive at Nong Kiaw, our destination for the night. Rough brown shacks capped with rusty corrugated tin and thatch pepper the hillside above. A bridge high above the river serves more shacks on the opposite shore.


A long stairway ascends the slope of the river to the village. We climb up to a village of dirt roads, dogs in the streets and plenty of flies for all. The road leads us to the bridge that spans the river. We spy what looks like guest houses that we hope will provide shelter for the night. The first guest house is a series of small thatched bungalows that have seen better days. Some of our companions book a room but it is a little funky for our taste. Farther down the road we find another guest house with a perfect little bungalow with porch perched high above the river which provides a fine view of the village opposite and the towering kharst behind. Despite the smoky air we are enchanted by the view and the peace and quiet of a small village far removed from the city. We go onto the large deck of the in house restaurant and have an ice cold Lao beer as we watch the sun disappear into the smoky haze of the mountains to the west. After a tasty bowl of noodle soup we return to our room and crawl beneath the mosquito net over our bed and call it an early night.The next morning we amble further towards the east of the village. A fresh cut dirt road entices us upward for a high view over the village and surrounding mountains. It is a stunning combination of soaring limestone peaks jungle covered wherever it has not been burned or logged by the land and timber hungry Laos. We like this place but decide to continue up river on the late morning boat.

The smoky air continues as we shove off.


The scenery is very dramatic as the river winds between tall kharsts and cliffs a thousand feet or more above us. After a short time on the river we arrive at the village of Nong Ngoi. This is more charming than the last. Accessible only by river it has remained mostly unspoiled. With no motos buzzing it is a welcome escape from civilization.

Derelict sighting in Nong Ngoi

We snag a beautiful bungalow right at the top of the bank. A hammock on the porch beckons and I succumb to lie and watch the beautiful river flow by. Small boats drift to and away from the beach bringing their catch or freight or passengers.


We decide to rent a small canoe and paddle up the river. After paddling for about a mile we are confronted with a small rapid but we are able to pass it by walking the boat up the river by the bank. We paddle on for a few more miles far away from the village and now we can hear the sounds of the jungle. It is alive with the buzzing, chirping, screeching and chattering of millions of insects. We pull up to the shore but are nervous about venturing too far because of the possibility of unexploded ordinance and mines left over from the Vietnam war. Reluctantly, we turn the boat down stream as the sun is barely over the kharsts opposite and an ethereal light bathes the river and town. The current helps us get back to town. The small rapid we passed on the way up fills the boat with water and I spend the next few minuts bailing. We arrive back in Nong Ngoi tired and happy.






After a brief rest we take a walk over to the local wat. Hawking, spitting, and smoking monks mar the otherwise tranquil setting of the wat with its ornate steep roof piercing the sky. The wat and grounds are a little shabby but occupy an incredibly beautiful setting high above the river. We retrace our steps over a bridge that spans a stagnant pond. I disturb ducks at their waddle as we turn off on a path that leads out into the countryside. After a few hundred yards we pass through another village. People our open air bathing, cooking and washing. Dishes. Pigs, goats and kids run around each other seemingly unaware of their differences. Lazy dogs lie in the road not even bothering to lift their heads at the strangers in the village. We continue on but now it is getting dark so we cross over to another path that will lead us back to town. We pass a large soccer field full of children of all ages kicking around a bald, flat soccer ball. When we pass we are cheered by their innocent play. We resolve to buy them a new ball if one is to be found in the town.

When we enter the town we search fruitlessly for a soccer ball but none is to be had so we head back to the river to find dinner. On a deck high above the Nam Ou we down fried rice, noodles and ice cold Lao beer which as one might suspect is getting to be a regular habit. As we finish dinner, it is now dark and there being nothing to do in this town and very little light to do it we head for bed. As we are walking back to our bungalow by the banks of the river a brisk wind springs up. We are grateful for this because our hot room has no fan and after 10PM no electricity to run one. The wind really kicks up and doors and shutters swing and slam and the sound of corrugated tin slamming off the roof catches our attention. We fall asleep to the sound of the wind which carries away the noise from the many small generators in the village. At times during the night we are awakened by gusts but our thatched bungalow holds firm and we sleep.

The next day dawns much clearer as the wind has blown away a lot of the smoke. We catch the 9AM boat to Muang Khua, the next village up the river.

Up a rapid which is contrary to our normal pattern

The scenery is not as nice and we endure an hour and half stop while the captain disappears into the village above another large sandy beach on the river. We goof with some of the village kids teaching them tic tac toe and building sand castles. The captain finally returns with a big grin on his face so we assume he has been drinking Lao Lao whiskey and beer. These suspicions are confirmed as he drives the boat erratically and stops 3 times in the next hour to water bushes on the shore. I am not too alarmed because the boat is going slowly and we could walk to shore in the event of a mishap. We arrive safe and sound in Muang Khua which is a grotty little town that makes us wish we had spent more time in Nong Ngoi. We had planned to spend the night but were put off by the town. We started walking to the bus station which for some unknown reason was 2 miles away. After a few minutes we flag down a tuk tuk and are whisked to the bus station. We get a ticket to Odomxai and arrive there in the dark and stumble around to find a guesthouse. Next we find a restaurant and gobble some, you guessed it, fried rice and cold beer and call it a night.

Elephant sighting on the Nam Ou