Laos - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 378

Destinations Luang Prabang (3 daily; 3-4hr); Oudomxai
(daily; 4hr).
By boat Boats leave for Muang Ngoi at 11am and 2pm
(1hr; 25,000K); one of the morning boats will sometimes
continue to Muang Khoua (see box, p.382; 6hr; 120,000K)
if there's enough demand (usually five people). Tickets
should be bought at least 30min beforehand.

views, though balconies are shared, while the cheapest,
viewles s rooms at the back are plainest but largest.
Double 50,000K
Delilah's North side of the bridge, on the main street
T 020 5439 5686. Nong Khiaw's cheapest accommodation,
with a six-bed dorm and a couple of small doubles. The
popular travellers' café downstairs is a choice spot for
breakfast and offer s takeawa y lunche s and goo d cakes and
desserts, too. Dorm 35,000K , double 55,000K
Sengdao Chittavong T 030 9237089. Conveniently
located at the northern end of the bridge, this tranquil place
has big bamboo huts, each with a balcony, neatly arranged
around a long, pretty garden. There's al so a nice , breezy
restaurant that looks over the river. Double 80,000K
Sunrise On the southern side of the bridge T 030
9853899. A collection of simple, clean, bamboo-thatch
bungalows on the river, all with hammocks and balconies
(shared in the cheapest rooms, which also have squat
toilets). Double 60,000K

5

INFORMATION AND TOURS
Bicycles Mountain bikes for exploring the beautiful
surrounding countryside can be rented next to Coco Home
(daily 7am-6pm; 30,000K).
Internet Most of the guesthouses and some of the
restaurants have wi-fi, and Deen restaurant, on the south
side of the bridge, has a computer terminal available for
250K/min.
Massage Sabai Sabai, opposite Sophdun Temple on the
southern side of town, is the perfect place to revive
yourself after a long bus journey or a day of exploring. Use
of the herbal sauna costs 20,000K (5-9pm) and massages
start from 50,000K (9am-10pm).
Tours There are three excellent tour operators. Run by
forward-thinking local guide Home,

EATING AND DRINKING
Most of the guesthouses have restaurants, offering a fairly
standard menu of local and Western dishes.
Alex South side of the bridge, on the same lane as Bamboo
Paradise . Rustic, bamboo-walled place that's widely
agreed to provide the best Thai-Lao cooking in town ( larp
25,000K), though the care they show in preparation tends
to show in painfully slow service. Daily 6am-10pm.
Coco Home Main street, just up from the boat landing.
This leafy beer garden has a pool table, good sounds
and lots of hideaway corners in which to chill. The
cute little movie room upstairs is usually full of supine
travellers catching the twice-nightly film showings. Daily
7am-10.30pm.

NK Adventures
( T 020 5868 6068, E [e-mail]), next
to Sabai Sabai, runs good-value cycling, trekking, kayaking
and bamboo-rafting trips; Green Discovery ( W green
discoverylaos.com), on the main street, offer all these and
more, while opposite, in the same building as Delilah's ,
Tiger Trail ( T 020 5439 5686, W laos-adventures.com) run
an excellent 100 Waterfalls trek that involves clambering
over the eponymous waterfalls and through paddy fields.

★

ACCOMMODATION
Bamboo Paradise On the southern side of the bridge,
first path to the right T 020 5554 5286. The original
bamboo-thatch rooms (60,000K) here each have cute
hammock-slung private balconies at right angles to the
river. Rooms in the newer building above enjoy better

MUANG NGOI
Hidden away on a peninsula on the Nam
Ou about an hour's boat ride from Nong
Khiaw, tiny MUANG NGOI is the perfect
place for a few days' peace and quiet
among beautiful scenery. Most visitors
tend to just while away their days
sleeping, eating, reading and relaxing by
the river, though there are options for the
more energetic: excursions to local caves,
kayaking down the river, trekking
through buffalo-ridden rice fields, and
fishing with the locals at sunset.

TREAT YOURSELF
Nong Kiau Riverside Follow the signs to
the left after crossing the bridge from the
western side of town T 071 810004,
W nongkiau.com. These huge wood-and-
thatch bungalows, set a little away from
the main road, have incredible views of
the karsts and the bridge, and are
beautifully decorated with dark wood
furniture. Each bungalow has a wide
private balcony that you could easily lose
days on, and the large, cool restaurant
serves exc elle nt Lao food. Rates include
breakfast. $56

★

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By boat Boats from Nong Khiaw arrive at the landing at
the north end of the village, which is strung out along
a single dirt track that runs parallel to the river. Boats