Break for the border!

Trip Start Sep 12, 2005

108

Trip End Aug 15, 2006

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Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep Nong Khiaw, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, November 20, 2005

This is definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. We had heard that the locals run little boats everyday to Nong Khiaw with supplies of food so we asked could we hitch a ride with one. The 7 hour trip up the Mekong was amazing and is regarded as some of Laos' best scenery which we would agree with. 50 photos later we reached Nong Khiaw. A small village with only about 5 places to stay, a restaurant or 2, no phones or Internet and electric for only a few hours a day. We stayed in a bamboo hut for only $1 but had to put up with some crazy nocturnal chickens. Conor had enough and at 5am he began chasing them around the yard in his boxers armed with a stick! Set between 2 mountains and a river and only 3 or 4 other backpackers it was just what we were looking for. We spent a night here and another in a different town called Muang Ngoi which was a further 2 hours up the river. This place was even more remote and with no roads in or out it was only accessible by river. That day a local offered to take us and a camp 50 year old Italian man called James to some caves which were 2 hours walk away

Muang Ngoi village

. James kept us entertained there and back with his unique sense of humour and his burning desire to be "ze Queen of Buckingham Palace" and all that came with it. That night we had some food with the oldest backpacker yet, a 70 year old man from Washington State, USA, called Jim. He was a nice man and had some great stories of his travels.

The next morning we realised we had 1 more day left on our visas! Shit! We were told we could not make it to the Thai border in less than 2 nights with the local buses and state of the roads. We packed up our bags and ran to the boat which brought us back to Nong Khiaw. We haggled with a tuk-tuk driver to bring us to Udo Ma Xai which was a 4 1/2 hour drive through the mountains where we were told we might be able to connect with a bus to Luang Nam Tha. It was true, and we managed to get the last bus with 9 other locals and their chickens. 13 hours from the start of our journey we made it to Luang Nam Tha where we crashed in a room beside the bus station.

Up again at 6am for the second leg of our break for the border. The road form Luang Nam Tha isn't recommended in our guide book and for once they were right! If you remember the road from Bangkok to Siem Reap multiple it by 5 and add:

-a mountain range and the 20 rivers that come with it
-a 6 seater pick up truck with 10 locals, their rice sugar canes, car batteries and
whatever else they decide to bring
-more dust than the Koran in a Synagogue
-a guy that was throwing up blood out the back of the truck
-a man that who had brushed his teeth with dog shit for the last 45 years

and you're close. The dust, smells and the bird flu victim got so bad that Conor ripped up his shirt so that we could use it as masks. After 10 hours of hell which included an hour being held up at a landslide waiting for the bulldozers we emerged from the truck more orange than a pair of millies walking down Castle Street on a Saturday night! But we made it with 10 minutes left to get over the river to the Thai border. We got through only because we paid the border control cop a few dollars to let us pass. We managed to get the last bus to Chang Mai and 5 hours later we arrived, which is where we are now. Will write soon...