Lazing in Luang Namtha, Laos

Lazing in Luang Namtha’s contagious laid-back pace but also its dazzling breathless vistas, force any traveller to explore this northern-most town in Laos.

Luang Namtha, Laos, SE Asia

Where is Luang Namtha?

Luang Namtha, Laos, SE Asia

An easy 2.5-hour bus journey across the border from Chiang Rai in Thailand sees you landing in another fabulous SE Asian country – Laos.

One of the northern-most towns in Laos, Luang Namtha (Namtha for short) borders the landlocked province of China’s Yunnan.

Dating back 6,000 years, Luang Namtha is also a province in Laos and is renowned for rubber and sugar cane plantations.


Luang Namtha

Luang Namtha is the gateway to fabulous trekking and it’s not hard to see why with such incredibly stunning scenery.

This is the first introduction to the gorgeous Luang Namtha province in Laos, as I never had the chance during my brief two-week brief to Laos in 1989. Buses were non-existent back then and Laos only had around 30-kilometres of bitumen road, which ran north-south of the capital Vientiane. The rest was severely pot-holed dirt tracks that washed away with any sprinkling of rain and hoping that travel in 2014 is not as difficult. But I digress…

Surrounding vistas boast striking fluorescent green rice fields back-dropped against spectacular blue-green and serene mountains in a leisurely-paced town. Namtha’s relaxed atmosphere is intoxicating and makes it easier to linger even longer.

Luang Namtha, Laos, SE Asia
Vistas near Namtha

The main street overflows with small restaurants, bicycle and scooter rentals, and tourist agencies offering the “trekking experience of a lifetime”. Of course, touts also latch on to tourists.


Sights

Known as a stopover point on the backpacker trail from China or from Thailand to Laos, this spectacular region is fast becoming a hot spot for hill tribe trekking and tourism – see it before it’s inundated and spoilt.

With around 20 temples only 60-kilometres from the town and the anthropological Luang Namtha Museum in Luang Namtha itself, there is certainly enough to keep any traveller busy on a visit.

As it’s currently the wet season and still busy for this pleasantly small town, the main reason for stopping here (apart from the border crossing) is to do a little trekking.


Trekking around Namtha

Tour companies in Namtha offer a myriad of trekking experiences from one to three days, or even more, at varying budgets.

Shop around and bargain hard as this town is savvy to tourists. At the time of writing, Zuela’s Guest House offered the best price.

My preference always is to go with locally-owned companies, not western-owned, and a company that is not afraid of displaying its breakdown of where your money is going.

Typically, with locally-owned companies, most of, if not all of the money stays in the country and filters back to the locals, eventually. I’ve also found that if a company includes “eco” in the name or offers “eco-tours”, the price is always much higher – interesting. Has anyone else found this clever form of advertising in Laos or SE Asia?

Luang Namtha, Laos, SE Asia
Surrounding area

Green Discovery appears to have everything sewn up in Laos, which for me, is a good enough reason not to go with this company. Not to mention the price seems to be much higher than other companies.

The wet season brings torrential rain on most days. So, decide to do indulge in only a two-day, one-night trek to the Lahu Hill Tribe Village, as this is one of the less frequented routes by foreigners – I’m advised.

Check out my separate post on the trek to the Lahu Hill Tribe village as it really is an amazing and memorable experience, including loads of photos – this post is a little devoid of photos.


Where to stay

Although Luang Namtha is not a large town, it’s surprising just how much accommodation is on offer. In 2014, accommodation was more low key and lacked 5-star resorts or hotels in town.

Zuela Guesthouse and Restaurant

The Zuela Guesthouse and Restaurant is on the main street and across from the Night Market, so a great location.

The lovely room graced with rich-coloured timber is serviced daily. Bottle water is included in the room each day as is a good “Standard” (option stated on the menu) breakfast. The wi-fi is a little sporadic in the room but found that it is okay in the restaurant and the external areas of the guest house. Surrounded by mountains, this is not surprising. Laundry is also offered at 10,000 K/kg.

transport, Luang Namtha, Laos, SE Asia
A breezy Songthaew – local cheap Namtha transport

As our room is directly next to the restaurant and kitchen, the noise of pots and pans rattling loudly starts at around 05:30 hrs and continues throughout the day, until nighttime, when the kitchen closes.

So pungent are the cooking and garlic fumes in our room and the small bathroom that it feels as though I am continually showering in garlic, chillies, and other sensual food aromas!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the smell of food cooking, but not in bed or with me in the shower!


Tireless touts

Something that really annoys me is that the Zuela Guesthouse and Restaurant allow the women touts selling their bracelets into the restaurant and also the guest house grounds.

Seven women work the streets of Namtha in a group and are absolutely relentless. Make no mistake, you will be badgered while you eat, talk, work on your laptop, try to rest, chill, and also if you sit outside on the room’s porch, especially as our room is next to the restaurant.

The women get a little nasty and annoyed if you decide to ignore them and not buy something. Be warned, they start their day at 07:00 hrs and continue in and out of the guesthouse until 21:00 hrs, doing alternating shifts.

We experienced this during the whole four days of staying at Zuela. It is more than tiring to get the continual badgering on the street, but to also experience the badgering at the guesthouse and its restaurant is just too much – there is no peace at all.

Other restaurants in Namtha don’t allow touts and often shoo them out, which forces the touts to pace up and down the street until you leave the restaurant, and then they pounce. Of course, the women hassle tourists only.

These same ladies also avidly work the night market. Remember, these women are professionals and work for a “boss”, as we saw the transactions between the ladies and the same boss in the market every evening.


Where to eat

In addition to cheap local food at the markets – as always, the markets are great for people watching and photos – most restaurants in Namtha serve similar menus. Offering Lao, Thai, and various western dishes at similar prices, it’s almost as though there is a little price-fixing going on in town.

Night Market

Average compared to other night markets in SE Asia, especially my favourite in Brinchang (Malaysia), but ate here a couple of nights – some stalls offer better quality than others. You can sample exotic foods such as BBQ frogs legs, fried insects, many different types of local fruits, salads, vegetables, wasp larvae, and other unusual selections. This market is cheap and basic.

Remember, much of the food at this market comes directly from Namtha’s enormous surrounding jungled mountains.

Morning Market

Apart from the usual fresh produce such as freshly slaughtered meat each morning and freshly-picked vegetables, many jungle delicacies such as crispy Rhino Beetles, grubs in cocoons, and more, also grace the menu. The prices are cheap.

market, Luang Namtha, Laos, SE Asia
Another great market near the bus station

Zuela Restaurant

The Zuela serves good food but average service. The baguettes, ‘Standard’ set breakfast and noodles are delicious.

Prices are a little higher than the bakery next door to Zuela (think the name is Happy), which serves very good homemade traditional food – my preference is always to go traditional.

Forest Retreat Bamboo Lounge

For an average cappuccino although the coffee is freshly ground at the lounge, check out the Forest Retreat.

After 5-plus months of travelling through SE Asia and on another traveller’s recommendation, we came here to indulge in a wood-fired pizza. But alas, as the cost is much too pricey for a pizza, we order coffee instead.

A great reason to stop at this lounge is that this place provides a school for young local women to learn food hygiene, English, standard western food preparation, and hospitality service.


Leaving Luang Namtha

As this is one of the most northern towns in Laos and the start of exploring this amazing country, decide to make our way slowly south and head for the less frequented Nong Khiaw while enjoying the superb scenery in Laos.

Unless you fly everywhere, Laos is not a country for fast travelling or if you are on borrowed time. Be patient, slow down, smile at the hick-ups, and enjoy the pace…

Visit Nilla’s Photography for more images. More posts on Laos.

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12 responses to “Lazing in Luang Namtha, Laos”

  1. Christie Avatar

    Lovely posts Nilla! I was giggling at your remark with ‘eco’, same here. My hubby found an eco-lodge on Airbnb last year (in Canada), but it wasn’t really different than others. I really didn’t know what they were referring to, other than the higher price, of course LOL

    1. Image Earth Travel Avatar

      Hey Christie, hope all is well with you.
      Thank you for the feedback and it’s cool you can ‘relate’ to the eco-labelling…it happens so often these days and in every country. Fancy marketing!

      1. Christie Avatar

        And another word used by the marketing these days: “green”. I’ve seen the word put on the bottles with chemicals, which have nothing ‘green’ inside. But sadly, some people fall easily in the trap used by the commercials these days..
        All good here, except for the snow we had last night and covered some of the flowers..
        cheers, xx

      2. Image Earth Travel Avatar

        Too true…nothing like a little false advertising to make a sale… 😉
        No snow here but the temperature is starting to drop a little. x

  2. gillmorris Avatar

    Interesting place and thank you for sharing Nilla. I dont know a lot about Laos as I have only been to Vang Vieng and Vientiane. It is beautiful though! xx

    1. Image Earth Travel Avatar

      Thank you, Gill.
      Both Vientiane and Vang Vieng changed so much since my first visit in 1989, but then again, everywhere changes. x

  3. Yetismith Avatar

    I wrote a little about SE Asia when I started blogging, 2019 I think. I went to boarding schools in Vietnam and Cambodia but then it was deemed not so safe so I was sent back to boarding school in England. Big culture shock and 2 years later to senior year of High school in NY. OMG…

    1. Image Earth Travel Avatar

      What a life-changing experience!
      I’ll definitely check some of your older posts out…
      Thank you for sharing your interesting story.

  4. Yetismith Avatar

    I think it must have been 1964, just before I came to live in the USA. But I have the impression that they were almost a daily event! I woke in the night to gunfire down the road. We lived next door to a military man and there were Jeeps roaring in and out. I lay in my bed listening, thinking if my parents were concerned they would get up…in the morning I asked “what was that all about, do you think? They said I was imagining things and Mum wanted to go to the market, so even though the girl who worked for them had tried to say there was fighting, we got into a samlor and headed off. Before we got far, the samlor driver whisked us around and peddled off fast back to the house where he dumped us before rushing off. My dad raised an eyebrow, saying “that was fast!” We had to wait for the nightly BBC news broadcast to hear there had been a coup. I have always complained that people don’t listen to me!

    1. Image Earth Travel Avatar

      Wow, what a story!
      You should write about some of your experiences as they would be a fascinating read. Let me know if you have any on your site.
      Ha, ha, that’s what I say. 😉

  5. Yetismith Avatar

    Your trek up to the Lahu village sounds pretty intrepid but a very unique experience and wonderful scenery. Children are always so interested in foreigners and they have so little, poor kids Laos always seemed to be such a dysfunctional sort of place but it was always in the middle of everyone else’s wars. I didn’t get to see much beyond Vientiane but I was there for one of their many coup-d’etas.

    1. Image Earth Travel Avatar

      It was and I have another long post just on the trek, which I’m thinking of splitting.
      So true, the children are fascinated by foreigners. I experienced this also in 1989 when we had children following us for half a kilometre out of their village while we walked along the road (dirt track) hitchhiking.
      The legacy of the wars in Laos is heart-wrenching. Which Coup d’état were you there for, what year?

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