Spectacular Nong Khiaw offers some of the most amazing trekking in Laos…
Where is Nong Khiaw?
If you find yourself in Luang Namtha, then travelling by minibus to Nong Khiaw takes around 6 hours and is not too difficult.
Hemmed in by incredible and imposing limestone mountains, Nong Khiaw is a photographer’s delight!
Nong Khiaw
My separate article on Nong Khiaw provides a little background on this gorgeous area, but also where to sleep and eat during your stay.
Nong Khiaw is in the Luang Prabang Province, which really is an incredibly beautiful part of Laos.
Boat Trips
The guide books’ promote many boat trips that whizz up and down the Nam Ou River. Make no mistake, these trips are on a well-worn trail.
Another great boat trip leaves from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang through some of the most spectacular scenery in Laos. But alas, Power China is building the ugly, monstrous, and contentious dam around 2 hours by boat from Nong Khiaw, which cuts this passage and the river in half.
Tour companies are charging more than 1,900,000K for a boat to the dam, then a 5-minute shuttle bus across to the other side, to then pick up another boat for the remaining journey to Luang Prabang. The whole river journey takes 6 hours although, by bus, the journey only takes 3 hours.
Nam Ou River day boat
For something a little different, you can still hire a boat that will take you to the dam. The boat owner waits for you to walk around for an hour before returning to Nong Khiaw.
The benefit of this trip is not to see the ugly dam, but to see the spectacular scenery and river life, as locals still live along the river. Leaving Nong Khiaw, the scenery just becomes more amazing until reaching around half an hour out from the dam. This is when the scenery changes dramatically as deforestation devastates the surrounding mountains – so tragic.
This dam is affecting the Khmu (indigenous people) and many ethnic groups that live directly on or near Nam Ou. One local advises that the river will rise by 4-5 metres following the dam’s completion. For obvious reasons, no one is providing locals with actual figures yet but in effect, much of Nong Khiaw’s riverside buildings would go under.
To put this into perspective, take a look at my photo (below) where the man is standing on the steps, then look further up to when you just see steps through the trees. This point, which is also close to the ticket office is about where the new river level would rise to…scary thought?
With the plan containing 72 new large dams, 12 of which are under construction and nearly 25 at advanced planning stages, this has either happened or is happening everywhere in Laos.
Let’s be clear, in Laos, there are no or very minimal environmental studies undertaken before building the dams. The mighty dollar speaks all languages.
Our boat driver…
As you hire the whole boat, try and rope in more people to split the cost. Bargain hard with the “official” ticket seller at the jetty office. We found out later that he ripped us off while delivering his flashing smile.
During the boat trip, the elderly boat driver (who doesn’t speak English) asks several times about the cost of our ticket and then motioned to see the tickets. On arrival at the dam, he draws in the sand how much we should have paid (we paid 650,000K but believe the price should be 500,000K to 550,000K). He seems quite agitated that we are overcharged, motioning with his head and hands that this is not good. Keeping our ticket he motions that he’ll go to the ticket office.
In my naivety, I honestly thought that he was going to try to get some money back for us although, on our return, he says goodbye. I now realise that he’s angry about not getting his correct cut of the higher ticket price and now with our ticket as proof, can confront the ticket seller.
How do I come to this conclusion, you ask? Because on our return, the driver raced past us to the ticket office before it closed but didn’t ask us to come along. Also, during the return trip, the driver asks if he can pick up a couple of villagers that wave him down in the distance. As we hired the whole boat, it’s up to us to agree, even though he changes course to approach the villagers, regardless of our decision.
Agreeing and assuming they hitched a lift with us – happy to give locals a lift – the two passengers thank us for the ride and stay with us until just before docking at Nong Khiaw.
To my surprise, when they get off, they hand money over to the boat driver. He’s annoyed as this is not enough and asks both passengers for more then pockets the money! I have no idea what he charged the villagers. Wanting to give the villagers a free ride, the driver had other ideas for making extra cash on this trip. Everyone is a businessman in Laos and nothing is free.
Day boat and trek to remote villages and waterfall
After reading much about the ‘100 Waterfalls’ day-tour and seeing the numerous tourist boats leaving from the boat jetty every day bound on this journey, decide to do a different and hopefully quieter tour away from the crowds.
The only locally-run company selling tickets is Nongkhiaw Adventure (previously Phone Travel Nong Khiaw) for 6 people on the tour at 200,000K per passenger, at the time of writing in 2014.
The tour provides an English-speaking local guide as a substitute for Mr Mang as his wife is due to have a baby. Also included is a delectable traditional picnic lunch, bottled water, boat hire for the day, a waterfall visit and a visit to two remote villages along the river.
Our tour guide (Ken) is excellent and speaks English very well. The boat ride starts at 09:00am and takes around an hour through the tanned-stained river, surrounded by lush jungle and majestic mountains, to reach the villages.
A wander around the first village (Ban Hoyhoi) lasts only an hour with Ken explaining different aspects of the local life in this small village.
The boat then takes you across the calm Nam Ou to a second thatched-hut village (Ban Sopjam, also known as Ban Sopkan) for a similar village experience.
Our tour then treks out of this village and across fluorescent green rice paddies until the incline to the waterfall, which takes a good hour.
Bring your swimmers as it’s pretty hot and sultry. There’s time to take a dip to cool down at the waterfall before enjoying a scrumptious picnic lunch, surrounded by jungle noises.
This is the rainy season, so of course, it rains every day and today is no different. Take some sandals on this day trek as you walk through streams and over slippery rocks.
Be careful as when you near the waterfall, rocks become particularly slippery, which is where I slipped and hurt my shoulder, then couldn’t trek up the Mountain View Point the following day.
A quick visit to a third village, Bansamsaath…
…to observe more of local life along the Nam Ou River before heading back along the river to Nong Khiaw.
Don’t forget to check part 1 of Nong Khiaw for where to stay and eat, but also a couple of more activities to indulge in…trek up another lookout. Or, explore one of the caves used to shelter villagers and Pathet Lao fighters during the Second Indochina War.
Visit Nilla’s Photography for more images. More blogs on Laos in Image Earth Travel.
Very beautiful there, your photos are brilliant. Very annoying at getting ripped off – when I was in Vientiane, I thought the same was happening to me. I went to the Buddha Park and on the way back, we picked up 2 people in the van and I was wondering whether they were going to pay, but they did. The guy was then questioning the cost back at the hotel, but it turned out that he was trying to explain to me that I had paid correctly – so I didnt get ripped off, but then that kip is so damn confusing! LOL
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Ha, ha, at least you didn’t get ripped off.
I know in the grand scheme of things, it’s not much but I guess it’s the principle. And in this instance, the boat driver was not only wanting his cut of the higher ticket price, but quite greedy charging the locals when we’d already paid for the boat and wanted the locals to get a ride for free. For me, this was worse than him wanting his commission from the ticket price. x
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Lush isn’t just a booze hound. Nice pics!
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No, not in my books anyway. 😉
So many meanings to an English word…
Thank you for the feedback and hope all is well with you.
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Great photographs and what a beautiful part of the world. Very much off the beaten path, I think even now? Life must be really hard and it’s no wonder everyone is a businessman, as you point out.
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I think Nong Khiaw is starting to become busier as this travel was in 2014 but everywhere is regardless of COVID, isn’t it? 😉
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Your photographs are fantastic!!! Between reading travel blogs and perusing tour sites, I cannot wait for my next trip!
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Thank you for your lovely feedback!
I’m exactly the same as haven’t been on any type of flight since Feb 2020!
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I mentioned Mung Ngoi !!
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Hmmm…not sure if we passed through that village…
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I’m pretty sure it’s by that waterfall.
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Ah right, thanks for letting me know. Sometimes you don’t find out about names during a tour… 😉
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Ngon Khiaw was one of our favourite places. We took a boat trip like your’s but liked it so much we stayed for 2 nights. Your pictures captured it perfectly. Maggie
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Thank you for the great feedback Maggie!
It’s a spectacular region of Laos and loved it there so extended – it’s easy to overstay an original booking in Nong Khiaw.
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Nice trip again. Is there malaria?
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I believe there is Malaria, especially anywhere close to rivers.
Taking Malaria tablets on and off is effective, but not a long term option, so avoiding is better than meds. Trying to avoid dawn/dusk, wearing long sleeves/trousers, and using repellent are better measures.
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True. Now, as a child, I took nivaquin daily in Africa. Still got 4 Malaria bouts. And had malaria-like fevers for many many years afterwards…
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Right, didn’t know you could still get malaria when on meds unless the tablets were no longer effective for that strain.
Do you still get the fevers or passed now?
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Well, the meds then were probably not so efficient, or often one forgot to take them.
The fevers are over, (Knock on wood) but it did last me until I was about 40… Weird.
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That’s very strange but I hear you never really fully get Malaria out of your system. I knew someone that got cerebral malaria but he survived as they got him to a hospital within 24-48 hours.
Think Malaria is similar to one of the mosquito-borne nasties Ross River fever or Dengue fever (?) in northern QLD.
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That’s what MD daughter says: you never really get it out of your system. But as far as my fevers are gone… 😬
Cerebral malaria (and Dengue) can be very bad. Your friend was lucky.
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Your daughter is clever! Strange how some things hang around in our bodies…
Yes, he was living in Thailand at the time so knew what it was and how to react – lucky he’s still alive.
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Lucky and glad. Have a nice week Amica mía… (Is mía correct in Italian?)
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Apart from a little Duolingo, I never sutdied Italian grammar and find it hard than French (think we spoke about that before).
Haven’t seen the accent over the “I” and thought it was “mia amica” – but I could be wrong! 😉
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You are good at languages. And I suspect the Italian grammar is even worse than the French… LOL. (Haven’t taken any class either. I do have a tiny dream to spend a few months in Italy and learn the language proper…)
Mía with accent is probably a Hispanism. I pilfer at least two languages shamelessly to pretend I mumble Italian.
(accents will now be dropped selectively)
Buona settimana.
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No, I’m not really, 😉 And yes, think I mentioned before that I studied French in high school for 6 years (not that I put much work into anything) and I find that Italian grammar is definitely more complex. Too many tenses, moods, etc., that can change a basic sentence.
Sounds like you’re ripping off from several languages to create your own version!
Buona Serrata
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Ripping off is exactly what I’m doing. When it works… 😉
Yes, you did mention French. Can you read French?
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Ha, ha…good for you! 😉
I used to be able to read French and can probably make the words out, especially when I visited in 2015 but don’t think I’ll read Les Mains Sale in any hurry like we had to for year 12!
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You might find it easier than you think.
Now, “Les mains sales” is a very good book but not easy. Compliments… (I think I have it on my shelves…) Cheers.
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Especially when you’re learning French!
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One wonders why French is not learnt anymore. 😉
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We had compulsory French and German in the first year of high school then you could pick the following years whether you wanted to continue with languages. But really, in Australia, we should have been learning an Asian language as we’re part of this region. 😉
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French and German! Two difficult languages at the same time?
I agree, Mandarin or Bahasa would have been better.
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Ha, ha, for the first year yes, if my memory serves me well, then just French for the other 5 years. 😉
Mandarin is very difficult but Bahasa is easier…the best way to learn is to live in a country for a few months.
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I can imagine the difficulty of Mandarin. I know only a few words of Hokkien, but much more Bahasa. I have to go back to Penang and learn both. 😉
Buona sera Nilla.
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Indeed…one of our ex-pollies is fluent in Mandarin, which is very impressive – not sure if he can write/read traditional or simplified Chinese though – he is a smart cookie.
I need to go back to anywhere right now…
Buona giornata/serata 🙂
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Mandarin is impressive. I once heard an Australian film maker whose name escapes me right now who was totally fluent in Mandarin.
Did you book your tickets to anywhere already?
😉
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Not sure who that could be.
No, as not sure if I mentioned but not going O.S. this year. 😦
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Guy is a cinematographer. Christopher Doyle.
OS as in Overseas? Ohhh. Ever so sorry.
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Wonderful!
Yes, plans changed so not this year. 😦
But you can tell me all about your adventures through your blogs… 😉
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Sorry about the change of plans. I will keep you “posted”.
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Ah well, life is fluid and we need to go with the flow.
No pun intended! 😉
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Indeed. Will you at least be able to take some time enough in OZ. The place looks so large it might feel like traveling to another country? 😉
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Ha, ha, anyone that comes to Oz and thinks they can spend a couple of weeks here is mad. Travellers don’t realise just how big our continent is and to give you an example, it takes around 6 hours to fly from Brisbane in the east to Perth in the west. We are 2 hours in front of the west. 😉
I have a couple of weeks off in July and will try to get away for a week, then may need to do more renovating for the other week.
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It is huge indeed. Probably wider across than the US.
Do take a week off. To clear your mind.
More renovation? Oh! no! Why?
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Yes and also expensive to get around…
Getting everything ship shape before the escape. 😉
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Internal flights are expensive? Not enough competition maybe.
Ship shape? Hadn’t heard that in many a moon.
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Congratulations! You made it into my Trash folder again.
Yes, especially post-COVID.
Ha, ha, it’s an old saying… 😉
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Haha. I kinda like there. It’s quiet. There’s a couple of old leather-bound armchairs. Even a mini-bar. 😉
I know about the old saying. Thing is the English one hears here is so heavily American influenced, no “Aulde Englishe” expressions come through. I seem to recall hearing that expression with my Brit friends long time ago…
Buona giornatta Nilla.
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Sounds ideal – a great place to relax and wind down.
I can imagine in Mexico there’s a lot of American TV and that’s where locals pick up the accent/slang/colloquialisms from…not great!
Buona Serrata Brian 😉
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There is a huge American influence. People go to grad school to the US, most US series cross over the border… Well. Such is life.
Anche tu…
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Everywhere not just in Mexico. It’s as though here in Australia, the around 30-year olds have forgotten how to say Z(ed) instead, they say Z(ee), plus they spell with z and not s – outrageous!
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LOL. When I got to grad school in the US, first class of quantitative techniques, Z is rational numbers, very much used. I asked a question pronouncing Z(ed), another student asked “What’s he talking about?” Teacher (from Austin, Texas, with a thick Sudern accint) said “That’s how the English say it. He means Zee, right, Brian?”. Now I say Zee. 😉 (I will go back to Zed) 😬
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Ha, ha, ha, too funny! Don’t conform. 😉
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I know… I’d actually changed my spelling in the US to write papers. I’m gradually changing it back. Our, tre, etc…
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It’s crazy how quickly you start to adopt the American spelling and this becomes the norm. Happy to hear you’re reverting back to the correct spelling… 😉
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Part of it is the overwhelming influence of American clients. Most of my clients were American Fortune 500 companies. So, you tend to write reports in their dialect. Now, on WP, if I write harbour, the system signals a spelling error.
But we shall never surrender…✊🏻
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Of course, you have to localis(z)e to your audience. Yes, WP doesn’t allow you to set a default dictionary – it’s all US English, which is quite annoying. Everything becomes homogenous, doesn’t it? 😉
Absolutely not and great quote!
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And the end result is I get confused sometimes. Our and re are easy, but s/z is not so easy… Anyway, possiamo parlare tutto en Italiano… Buona giornatta Nilla. 🙏🏻
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Sì, possiamo parlare in italiano ma la mia grammatica non è eccezionale… 😉
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LLO. I’m sure it is way better than mine. I just mix whatever little Italian I know, with French or Spanish with a salsa di pommodoro. 🍅
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Ha, ha, sounds unique! At least you try…
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It is important to try. Always.
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Of course! 😉
Hope all is going well for you and you’re looking forward to your OS trip.
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Running a bit to get all things done before. Already talked to my brother. We’ll try to get together… Haven’t seen him in 3 years…
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Always seem to run out of time towards going away. I usually pack the night before or a couple of days at most.
That will be a lovely catch-up. How long are you going for?
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I do tend to pack late too.
I’m going for six weeks. One of my daughters and all her family for 2 weeks, my wife and the other daughter, 3 weeks.
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That sounds like a wonderful trip and I’m sure you’ll have loads of photos to share… 😉
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LOL. I will do my best…
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Can’t wait!
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Just a comment on your comment about my post on our son-in-law. (My daughter reads all my posts…) what nags me is all the stuff both missed. They’d been together for six years. Wedding was set for November. Venue picked up, dress bought. All their life ahead of them. But no. Besides missing him every day (we’d really hit it off together), I am just mad at all the missed opportunities both he and my daughter will never have together… A very sad affair. (Apologize for using your blog, just don’t want my daughter to read. She is very strong, but it still is a shame…)
Thanks for listening.
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Hey Brian
No problem at all venting here and I don’t mind being a sounding board.
It’s tough when you can’t express/discuss your thoughts. Checked out the link for Andrés ‘ from your post – powerful words!
Take care
Nilla
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Thank you. You take care too…
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