Nong Khiaw

bus

Bridge over the Ou River

Slipping into madness: she named the sandwich "Mort"

Uh oh

Nong Khiaw is a sleepy, scenic town on the Ou River, known for the great limestone karsts that stand over it.  We rented a bungalow on the riverbank for two nights to take a breath before beginning the long journey east to Vieng Xai and the Vietnamese border.  We had no idea!

There is no direct bus from Nong Khiaw to the border town of Sam Neua, but there is a bus that makes the nonstop 24 hour journey from Vientiane eastward.  We learned we could hail this bus when it crossed the bridge over the Ou, but because Laos buses are infamous for breaking down, the best estimate put the bus in Nong Khiaw in the window between 6pm and 1am or between noon and 4pm (?).  We settled in in an accomodating cafe.  The next 27 hours of waiting (truly sitting staring at the road for the bus to arrive at any moment) was a colorful affair: the Nong Khiaw power generator blew out early on night one, and so we watched the road by candelight; we took approximately eight dozen anticipatory final trips to the bathroom; we twice ate the sandwiches we bought for the bus ride in a sad admission that we weren't going anywhere soon; deep into the wait Christina shattered minutes of peace yelling madly: "LET'S NOT TURN ON EACH OTHER!"; a deck of nudey cards saved our sanity and possibly our relationship; we were mercilessly laughed at by German tourists; and only when we caved in and ordered noodle soups, plates of springrolls and fried vegetables, beers, and something called "Fish Three" from our cafe did the bus finally arrive at 8pm on night two, and we had to pay and leave before the food arrived!

The 16 hour bus ride to Sam Neua was easy by comparison.  Our drivers were three charming young Laotian boys who took turns driving, singing, telling stories, and slamming energy drinks.  We did break down once during the night, but the engine was quickly rebuilt with chewing gum or something.  We woke up just before dawn, though, stopped behind a long line of military trucks.  The vehicles were powered down and many drivers had started bonfires by the side of the road or had built cardboard beds under their trucks.  Ominous.  We investigated and saw that a truck had taken a turn too sharply and had spilled the contruction equipment it was carrying into a canal, blocking any vehicle from passing in either direction (the truck could not move without damaging the equipment).  In a remote mountainous region, this one lane highway was the only passage east.  And what equipment could lift the truck out, and where would it be arriving from?  Vientiane, 22 hours away?  Who knows.  Our drivers sang us back to sleep, and four hours later we were moving.