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The mini-van journey from Luang Prabang was long but quite scenic - lots of green fields and rice paddies. Every once in a while we passed through a little village with make-shift stalls along the road. We arrived at Nong Khiaw bus terminal on Tuesday 10 July and, since we didn't kow what time boat left, opted for the mini-van shuttle down to the pier to get there as soon as possible.
Fortunately, we arrived with plenty of time to spare, bought tickets and grabbed a seat on the deck of one the restaurants overlooking the Meekong River. We ate our lunch and watched as a group of girls started playing on the steps by the water. Very soon they were pushing each other in with lots of giggles - quite entertaining to watch. It wasn't long before the boys arrived and it turned to a full on game.
After quite a lot of waiting, Kevin went and asked if the few people sitting in one of the boats if this was indeed the 14:00 boat. They said yes so we all stumbled down the muddy hill and started loading our bags onto the boat. The driver loaded a few more bags of rice and petrol (we guessed for the generators) we were off. The journey was quite slow but it allowed us to take in the surroundings. Finally Muang Ngoi came into view and our slow boat pulled to the shore. We hopped out, walked up the steep stairs and went in search of a place to stay. Soon we found a place - a little hut with two hamocks on a tiny porch overlooking the Meekong. There was no need to ask if there was a fan or air-con or hot water as this sleepy little village, only accessible by boat, has electricity for just 3 hours a day in the evening.
We had a quick shower and went to look around. It didn't take us long to walk up and down the single dirt road that comprises the village. What we did notice is how the people just continue on with their lives, almost oblivious to the tourists wandering around. There were a couple restaurants/bars so we found one that had some cushions scattered on the deck and lanterns in the trees, where we sat eating spring rolls and drinking some cold Lao-Lao (traditional rice whiskey) cocktails, totally relaxed. It is days like that that we realize again just how blessed we are to be taking this trip. We then made our way back to our little hut and showered (again - it was so hot and humid!) and positioned our gigantic mozzie net (with lots of holes and patches everywhere) over the bed and tried to get some sleep.
Wednesday we were woken by the heat beating down into our hut turning it into a giant oven. We had a quick shower to cool off and then we went in search of something to eat. We passed by the second-hand bookshop on the way back where Monique picked up some good "fluff" to read :-) That afternoon we got comfy in our hamocks and read until evening. That night we had dinner at a family owned street-side buffet. There was quite a lot on offer - no small task for two people to cook each day. We then went back to our hut and read until the generators cut out at around 9:30pm - bed time!
Thursday was another super-chilled day. Monique had finshed her book from the day before, so went to trade it in for a new one. We assumed the same position as yesterday and read for the rest of the afternoon. The one thing that is not so great about Munag Ngoi are the mosquitos - they are huge and there are millions of them. We both got absolutely chowed - the hole-y mosquito net provided some respite at night, but not much :-/
Friday we woke up early, packed up our things and went down to the pier to buy tickets for the boat back to Nong Khiaw. We loaded our things onto the boat and set off, downstream this time. However, soon after we left the boat died and our driver had to row us to the river bank. After securing the boat to some vines, he stripped down to his undies and dove into the muddy brown water. He and two other guys fiddled with the engine and propeller for about 10 minutes, and soon we were back underway. The journey back seemed a lot quicker than before. We arrived a little before lunch time and immediately went in search of an ATM. We then walked accross town to the bus station, where we caught a truck (kinda like the back of a bakkie with benches) back to Luang Prabang.
We weren't traveling for very long when one of the benches in the back broke. Fortunately for those who now found themselves on the floor, our driver decided to stop at a mechanic in the next town for a quick welding job. We all went to have a drink at a restaurant two shops down while we waited for things to get sorted. Soon we were on the road again and after lots of hours, we arrived back in Laung Prabang, the major city in the North of Laos. We stayed in a guesthouse in the same area as we had stayed before and after a shower, walked into town and found some dinner. Kevin climbed the hill to see the temple at the top and view of the area, while Monique browsed around the night market once more. We then walked back to the hostel and did some admin before going to sleep.
Saturday we walked down to the baguette stalls and bought our very last Laos baguettes from our guy. We had a few hiurs to kill before our flight so we went back to Joma coffee shop to do a bit of admin things. We collected our bags from our hostel and hopped into the back of a tuk-tuk for the short ride to the airport. We didn't have a lot of Laos money left so we gave our driver all we had and two bottles of water, and headed towards the checkin desk for our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam!
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