Laos - Nong Khiaw – Things to Do

Nong Khiaw, a small town 3.5 hours from Luang Prabang.

How to go to Nong Khiaw: From Luang Prabang, go to Northen Bus Station and take minivan to Nong Khiaw.

Northen bus station.

Generally, the minivan is quite comfortable, free seating and not so crowded since big size luggage would be placed on top of the van.

Tips:

1 Ticket is based on first come first serve basis, so it is better to be there earlier to buy the ticket.

2 Since the journey needs few hours, bring along water and some snack in the van.

Upon arrival at Nong Khiaw bus station, tuk tuk service is available there so not need to worry about how to get to you hotel. If not, you can always choose to walk since it is a small town :)

Tips:

1 There are quite a number of budget guest house here, you can get a whole unit by yourself in less than RM60!

2 The internet plan we signed up at Luang Prabang Airport, Beeline cannot work well at Nong Khiaw, no signal at all -.- Good thing is free Wifi is quite a common thing here, you can stay connected using free Wifi at restaurant and guest house’s common area :)

We spent 3days 2nights here and don’t be surprised to find out that there are a lot exciting things to do here!

No.1 Hike up to Phadeng Peak!

A hike around 1.5hrs which brought us to 360° panorama view of Nong Khiaw, Nam Ou River and Muang Ngoi River! The view was fantastic and totally worth the sweat and mosquito bites we got that morning!

Follow the signage to get to the ticket counter. Paid 20,000 kip entrance fee for each person and the uncle gave each of us a stick as hiking stick and brought us to the small yellow gate which is the starting point of the trail.

We were told that we were the first 2 hikers that day, although we were there around 10am. We think that’s the reason why we gained so much mosquito bites >.< first meal of the day for them LOL. Please don’t forget to bring along mosquito repellent!

The trail up is well-maintained and it was muddy all the way up due to rain on the day before. The trail changed from muddy to rocky when we were approaching the peak.

A small hut was built on the peak and here’s the best place to have your breakfast! 360° view of mountains, rivers and villages!

View from the peak!

Entrance fee: 20,000 kips per person.

No. 2 Herbal steam bath at Sabai Sabai

Haha, we had an ultimate herbal steam bath after half day workup at Phadeng peak! This is a very traditional way of doing steam bath. Herbs (we smell lemongrass, others are not so sure LOL) is boiled in a closed pot behind the steam room, a bamboo rod was used to transfer all steam generated from the pot into the steam room. The feeling was good, felt like immersed in a lemongrass mist LOL.

The steam bath treatment is so affordable that we believed the same treatment would cost easily triple or even more in Malaysia.

Steam bath cost: 25,000 kips per person (free-flow of ginger tea is provided).

No. 3 Loiter around the peaceful town and take lots of photos

Everywhere here is so photogenic! View of mountains and rivers never failed to surprise us! They looked different but yet attractive everytime when we looked at them! Sometimes covered in clouds, sometimes shine under the sun… Those that came from city might feel exciting to see animals like squirrel and chicken walking on the road LOL.

No. 4 Kayak

 Think of viewing Nong Khiaw village from different angle? Kayak is the best choice to get closer to the river and enjoy the sunset :)

No. 5 Join hiking or caving tour

Tour service for hiking, caving and even cycling is available here in Nong Khiaw. Think of exploring Nong Khiaw or even surrounding village in a more extreme way but need guidance? There are few tour agencies here ready to serve you, small tour (minimum 2 pax to go) is available too!

 Nong Khiaw is a lovely town, we fall in love with this place after a short stay. It is quite sad to know that river access from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw was blocked and stopped service due to water dam construction at Nam Ou river. Previously, people can take a boat ride from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw, according to locals, the view is fantastic. Now, Nong Khiaw is only accessible from Luang Prabang via road.

All the best for Nong Khiaw, hope to come back here again :)