Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CocoHome
Main street, just up from the boat landing 020 2367 7818.
This leafy, Thai-
run restaurant-bar-beer-garden has a pool table, good sounds and lots of hideaway corners
in which to chill. The cute wooden movie room upstairs is usually full of supine travellers
catching the twice-nightly film showings (6 & 8pm). Sometimes closes out of season.
Daily
7am-10.30pm.
Deen
South side of the bridge 020 2214 8895,
deenfoodnongkiaulaos.net
.
A simple and
sweet little Indian restaurant, offering a huge range of veg (from 10,000K) and non-veg (from
20,000K) curries, served piping hot.
Daily 7am-10pm.
Delilah's
North side of the bridge, on the main street 020 5439 5686.
A popular traveller's
café that's a congenial spot for breakfast, with home-made bread and yogurt plus a three-egg
“power” omelette (25,000K). Also offers good coffee and cakes, plus desserts in the evening,
which might include banoffee pie and flambéed bananas.
Daily 7.30am-10.30pm.
Mekara
South side of the bridge 030 923 0591.
The widest selection of Lao food in Nong
Khiaw, particularly good for its authentic curries (Paneng curry 25,000K), served in generous
portions. The thatched roof, fairy lights and ambient music make it an atmospheric choice for
dinner, though service can be slow and on occasion surly.
Daily 7am-10pm.
Nong Kiau Riverside
South side of the bridge 071 810004,
nongkiau.com
.
Nong Khi-
aw's smartest restaurant, in a breezy wooden pavilion right above the water with superlative
views, serves excellent Lao food, including a delicious
mók pa
(37,000K) and Lao sausages
(25,000K). Unfortunately, service can be very slow.
Daily 7am-10pm.
Muang Ngoi
Strung out along a single dirt track, tiny
MUANG NGOI
is idyllically set amid beautiful
scenery on the banks of the Nam Ou. It's long been an attractive spot for backpackers, many
of whom end up whiling days away here. Just an hour's boat ride north of Nong Khiaw, the
village - until 2013 only accessible by river - has a real edge-of-the-world feel. Although
it's easy enough to just hang out here sipping coffee and swinging in a hammock (as, indeed,
most people do), there are a lot of
activities
on offer, including trekking to nearby hill-tribe
villages, exploring the dirt tracks that thread out of town by mountain bike, canoeing on the
river and organized fishing trips. However, wandering the main street, especially during high
season, you can't help but feel this sleepy little place has been somewhat ambushed by tour-
ism, with every second property seeming to be a guesthouse or a travellers' café.
Note that, at the time of writing, there was no internet access in Muang Ngoi - though this
may well have changed by the time you read this - and the guesthouses are your only option
for changing money (at poor rates); it's best to bring enough cash to cover your stay.
