Nong Khiaw - 27-28/01/2009

Check out the wad of cash in the guy in the yellow t-shirts hand!!!

Mist! Yep it was cold - a nice change

Nong Khiew

This is the boat that broke down - the one we ended up on was not much better!

To mix up my methods of transportation I opted for the slower and more scenic route up the river to Nong Khiaw... this proved to be a blessing and a curse! the blessing was that it was STUNNING, sheer cliffs, low water levels, some rapids made for a dramatic landscape. The down side was that the first boat we boarded had a few engine problems. We had an Israeli mechanic on board who was trying to tell the driver that we were not going to make it up the river with the engine in its current state - it was cutting out every 5 minutes. Each time we stopped which was every couple of minutes the engine would be taken apart and put back together and then started again. Eventually after two hours of this we were off loaded into another local boat going in the same direction and sat on the rice bags - a considerable more comfortable experience! Since this was not the booked boat we did not stop for food and only went ashore in need of a toilet break.
Nong Khiaw was worth the side track as it was a nice slower pace of life and much more Laos than the more common tourist route between Laung Prabang and Vientiane - needless to say I did a whole lot of wondering around, visiting caves that were used as shelter during the way. generally smiling a lot and divulging yet another book. It has been such a long time since I have had the freedom to just read, and read what I want that I am really enjoying it.