Tours to Muang Ngoi
The relaxing village of Muang Ngoi in northern Laos is blessed with spectacularly stunning mountain and river scenery and one of the friendliest populations in Laos, in the land of a million smiles.
Muang Ngoi's historical claim to fame is that it was part of the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail, which covered its way down the east side of Laos as a transport route for the Northern Vietnamese.
This area was heavily bombed by the Americans, with the locals fleeing to nearby caves to take refuge. One single stone-paved street runs the length of the village, and is lined with houses of which every second or third has been turned into a restaurant or guesthouse to accommodate visitors.
Restaurants serve a selection of local favorites, the most popular being laap, a salad of minced meatand herbs, eaten with your fingers and sticky rice.
The area was very beautiful with wooden houses lining the hills either side of the river, in front of mountains surrounded by mist.
There were few tourists when we visited so it was very peaceful and, unlike Vang Vieng, the area is not yet filled with movie bars and nightspots playing loud music beside the river.
Though, we stood looking over the river from the guest house and imagined that in the near future it is likey that Nong Khiaw could develop into another Vang Vieng.
Due to our time constraints, we could only spend one night here before moving onto Muang Ngoi Neua one hour away by boat.
The boat journey was comical as there were many of us crammed onto two benches either side of the long boat without enough room in the middle
for two sets of legs, so everyone ended up
intertwined and couldn't move.
The quickest way to get there is first by road to Nong Kiaow, a similarly gorgeous riverside town three to four hours' drive from Luang Prabang.
Worldtravel4indians.com provides information on Tours to Muang Ngoi and different tours around Laos.
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