The slow boat chugged upstream, first on the Mekong, then on the Nam Ou River. The rivers had cut the easiest path between towering limestone formations and mountainous forest, so the views were tremendous the whole way.
Serenity reigned. Dragonflies zipped alongside the boat; locals working on the banks smiled at us; children swimming in the water called out and waved to us (some even tried to swim to us). Occasionally the boat would shudder and splash as it sliced through churning rapids. Floating plastic bottles served as the only markers for dangerous shallows, but the captain guided the boat flawlessly.
Words struggle. Cannot. Write. Too beautiful.
The first thing I did when I arrived was run to a toilet. I think I had to pay about 10,000 kip ($1.20) to use it, but hell, by that point I would've paid 100,000 kip.
Nong Khiaw is a quiet market village surrounded by spectacular limestone karsts, with the Nam Ou River weaving through its middle. I'd barely left the pier when two little girls ran up to me and greeted me with a warm "sabaidii". It was that kind of village. Not a lot of foreigners stay here, and all the locals were so friendly and smiley. And if Nong Khiaw didn't have enough character already, the bridge that spans the river's width - the spine of the village, in a sense - commanded such serene views of the village and its landscape that I immediately fell in love.
This bridge was built by the Chinese
The next day I hired a bike so I could explore this immersing landscape first-hand. The man who lent me the bike had this map out the front of his shop, and encouraged me to take a photo of it in case I got lost.
I don't think this map was destined to help me at all...
I picked up some pad thai from a local restaurant and brought it with me. The road was uneven and hilly, but it took me through some even more remote villages. When I reached Pha Thok Cave I sat by the creek and had lunch, gazing at the world around me.
My cool green bike!
Then I saw this sign...
...but this means nothing in Laos. There were, of course, locals waiting to take the odd foreigner into the cave anyway. I followed one of them past the main entrance and to the back of the limestone formation, where he indicated to a hole in the rock.
Had to cross this to get to the caves!
The main entrance... closed
It was dead quiet. He wanted me to go inside. This man barely spoke a word of English, and although my Thai had come in useful in Laos, it failed me here. After wondering if I was going to come out of this cave alive, I shrugged my shoulders and clambered inside. No point turning back now!
My guide handed me a torch and took the lead, and we slid deeper and deeper into the belly of the mountain. Some hundreds of years ago, these caves served as the bank of Luang Prabang. They were also a site of battle during the civil war. My guide re-enacted a moment of it, zipping behind a rock, then peering out and firing his pretend gun.
My guide
He led me into more caves, occasionally murmuring gibberish and acting out situations in an attempt to communicate the significance of the cave. I'm sure he does this all the time, but he had quite a nervous laugh, as if he was unsure of what he was doing. Every now and then he lit up a cigarette and drank it through like water.
I rode my bike further from civilisation on that beautiful, windy road. After cresting another hill I stopped to take some photos, and a local riding a motorbike pulled up beside me. He was just a friendly guy who wanted to chat in English. But by this time it was approaching late afternoon and I had to return the bike before dark, so after 15 minutes or so we parted ways and I headed back.
Friendly stranger
The road out of town
I was sad to leave Nong Khiaw, as it really is a special place, but I wanted to push further north and into even less touristed areas. After negotiating a fair price for a minivan for myself and six other foreigners (here my Thai did come in handy!), who had refused to accept the driver's price because he was blatantly ripping them off, I was off to Udomxai, where I needed to stay a night before catching the bus north to Phongsaly.
That bus... That is another story altogether.
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