Isolated, Idyllic Locations
Nong Khiaw -> Mung Ngoi, 23rd April 2002
We all ate breakfast together at about 9am before making our way
down to the boat pier. However, the next boat to Mung Ngoi wasn't
leaving until 1pm, just under 2 hours away. We passed the time by
sitting on the short, chatting and watching the Lao children play
happily & care-free in the river. This must where all the kids hang
out, it looks great fun & it's free!
Soon enough, it was time to go & we all boarded a precarious, tiny,
narrow wooden boat along with a few dozen other falangs & a couple
of locals.
Once we were all squeezed in tight, we set off. The journey only
took about an hour, but we were glad to arrive alive & fairly dry!
The boat had a few holes & loose planks, which was a little
disconcerting, especially as water flooded in for the whole journey.
Luckily one of the locals spent the journey scooping the water out &
throwing it over the edge.
About halfway through the journey we stopped by the river bank. The
driver shifted around some of the luggage then indicated that a
small group of travellers should get out of the boat and walk along
the bank, following a local lady. We'd then pick them up in a
minute. Hmmm. Strange. But we soon worked out why he'd done this.
About 2 minutes later we went through some...'interesting' rapids
with the water spraying up high. The water shot and spat all over
the place, the narrow boat somehow avoiding the worst of it, but the
sides of the boat barely sitting above the water level. After a
dodgy few minutes, with more than a bit of water joining us in the
boat, we made it through the rapids and waited at the bank again for
the people walking. After they'd joined us again, the next part was
easy sailing and we soon reached Mung Ngoi.
We spent quite a while hunting out some accommodation. We eventually
found some rooms, very cheap too! I stayed in a basic but clean &
acceptable room for only 7000Kip (about 50p)! We spent the afternoon
relaxing & walking around the town & river bank. We spent a couple
of hours swimming in the lovely, cool, quite clear water of the Nam
Ou river. Lying on a small island in the middle of the river, with
my feet in the water, tiny fish brushing against them, no sounds
except that of nature & the flowing river, fresh air & stunning
mountain views, this place really is Idyllic.
Although Mung Ngoi has loads of guesthouse (about 17 & it's a tiny
town) and falang orientated businesses, it's still very
non-touristy, untouched & peaceful. It's a lovely Lao town that I
could easily spend a week in just chilling. There are plenty of
hills & walks to keep me busy & the river to swim in. Mung Ngoi is
also very isolated. No long-distance phones & no roads run to it.
You can only reach it by river. The lack of cars & vehicles really
makes the place very peaceful.
We all met up for a meal in the evening & chatted for hours about
anything, before heading to a guesthouse where a party had been
advertised. It was obviously just a gimmick to get lots of people
there buying drinks, but still, it was pretty good. One amazing
thing we noticed, was that for a few hours, the moon had a huge,
white halo around it. It looked quite mystical & we weren't sure
what was causing it, but it looked really spectacular.
The party began to wind down around midnight I hunted fore my
guesthouse in the moonlight (no streetlights here), and when I found
it, I fell fast asleep.
Next Diary Entry >>
|
