Laos - The Road & the River

Part 4 - The Road and The River

The road over the mountains from the Vietnamese border at Tay Trang to I-don’t-know-where in Laos is an engineering marvel, carved out of solid rock, with sheer drops winding through thick jungle, following the gorge of a narrow river far below. The road is in various stages of construction, none of which is anywhere near finished.

Nothing is paved yet, all is raw, rocky, dusty and muddy; parts are flooded; machines grind, cut and dig with steady persistance. It’s a wild, bumpy obstacle course and we hold on for dear life as we slip and slide around in the back seat. Several times Trang, our skilled driver, gets out to check the depth of a flooded area to see if the car can pass. Sometimes we have to wait until rock-breaking machinery stops to let us pass.

At the same time, we’re struck speechless by the magnificent scenery that passes before our eyes: wondrous thick jungle and jagged peaks, the sheer, heart-stopping, unprotected drop to the shining river below.

After four hours of bone-jangling rock-and-roll we arrive at Muong Khua, just ahead of the public bus that we didn’t take and that left five hours before us. Patricia and I congratulate ourselves as we watch weary, dusty, red-eyed back-packers climb down from the mud-covered bus.

The sun is shining and it’s not so cold anymore.

A long narrow wooden motor boat carries us across the river to Muang Khua, a sleepy fishing village just beginning to wake up to its commercial possibilities – but with still a long way to go. There are only two streets in town, and nothing is going on. We enter the market where we hook up with a local family celebrating something (we don’t know what) with a lot of beer and loud music. We dance and drink with them, buy candy for their kids, and return to our room to dine on delicious left-overs from our picnic lunch, and fall asleep feeling as though we're still on the boat.

Next morning, Som Nith, our boatman shows up, grabs our luggage, and leads us down the road to his long wooden boat which we’ve chartered to take us down the Nam Ou river for the next three days. “V.I.P.,” says Som Nith with pride, pointing to the comfortable padded passenger seats, wooden roof, safety vests, and foot rests. He positions a plank and we climb on.

Steep, rocky mountains plunge into the narrow river forming stark vertical walls on either side of us. Jagged rocks of karst and low bushes form small islands, jutting out of the sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent green water. Tiny bamboo villages, small cultivated fields of corn, rice and vegetables dot the narrow beaches of the river. Fishermen cast nets from small wooden boats and pull out large carp, catfish and dorade.

The guidebook says the Nam Ou River has some of the most spectacular scenery in Asia. Pictures, while not nearly enough, tell more than I could ever describe. All I can say is The Nam Ou River is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.

Nong Kieow is paradise: a small village with a beautiful bamboo bungalow resort overlooking the river, and an old suspension bridge connecting two sides of the village. We spend two days and nights here. Our hotel has the best food in town and we take all our meals here trying all the Laotian specials on the menu. We relax on our terrace, high over the river, and gaze at mountains and the Nam Ou river…

HAPPY HOLIDAY & BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!