Tag Archives: Nong Khiaw

Northern Laos Loop – 7. Journey Day 4 (Nong Khiaw to Xam Neua)

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Day 4 (Nong Khiaw to Xam Neua)

If Luang Prabang is the most visited provincial capital in Laos, then Xam Neua (or Sam Neua) has got to be the least visited provincial capital in Laos. There are not many sites in Xam Neua to entice the tourist to travel to this remote city tucked in the north eastern corner of Laos. However, there are a few interesting attractions near Xam Neua – Suan Hin (Sao Hin Tang) stone garden and Vieng Xai Pathet Lao Caves. They were my reasons for taking the 320km ride from Nong Khiaw to Xam Neau.

I moved off from Sunrise Guesthouse at 7am. It was a chilly morning and the roads were all misty. For some reasons, it made the ride more interesting. Except for the gravel stretch from Vieng Thong to Phou Lau, the roads from Nong Khiaw to Sam Neua (Route 1C and Route 6) were mostly tarmac. There were some fun twisties from Phon Lau to Sam Neua.


Misty morning

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Northern Laos Loop – 6. Journey Day 3 (Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw)

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Day 3 (Luang Prabang – Nong Khiaw)

Luang Prabang is one of the most visited cities in Laos. Formerly the royal capital of a kingdom, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and boasts some of Laos’ finest temples. I intend to spend the whole morning in Luang Prabang city before going to Nong Khiaw, a market village by the Nam Ou river in northern Luang Prabang province.

I woke up at 630am and took a morning stroll. Walking alone is an activity I enjoy. Evidently, Robert Louis Stevenson shared the same sentiment when he described it eloquently as follows:

A walking tour should be gone upon alone, because freedom is of the essence; because you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way or that, as the freak takes you; and because you must have your own pace, and neither trot alongside a champion walker, nor mince in time with a girl. And then you must be open to all impressions and let your thoughts take colour from what you see. You should be as a pipe for any wind to play upon. “I cannot see the wit,” says Hazlitt, “of walking and talking at the same time. When I am in the country I wish to vegetate like the country,” – which is the gist of all that can be said upon the matter. There should be no cackle of voices at your elbow, to jar on the meditative silence of the morning.

I came by the pier and there was a row of ferries docked neatly by the shore. These ferries are popular with tourists as an interesting mean to reach destinations such as Huay Xai and Nong Khiaw.


Ferries by the Mekong river

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