Visited as an overnight stopover during a 2-day cruise down Laos’ Nam Ou River from Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw, my time spent in the idillic & charming village-like town of Muang Ngoi was the highlight of the journey and a fond memory.
|
Named for the Nam Ngoi River that has its confluence with the Nam Ou River just south of town, though officially called Muang Ngoi Neua (‘North’) and also known as Muang Ngoi Gao (Old Muang Ngoi), the town of Muang Ngoi is located on the east bank of the Nam Ou River in Louangprabang province, about 170 km northeast of Luang Prabang. From Luang Prabang, Muang Ngoi can be visited by first traveling by car or bus due northwest to Nong Khiaw via Roads #13 & #1C (about 2-1/2 hours), then by boat up the Nam Ou River for about 1 hour (depending on the season and river conditions). Muang Ngoi has a population of about 700, with the residents of the Lao Loum (‘Lowland Lao’) ethnicity. As it is a small town with limited accommodations, an overnight stay in Muang Ngoi is best planned and booked in advance. The town dates to the 15th century and was the old Ngoi district capital. In 1892, the town was the site of a 25-soldier military station that served as a Siam (Thailand) frontier outpost, though as a result of the 1893 Franco-Siamese Crisis outcome, Lao territory controlled by Siam would be ceded to become part of the French Protectorate of Laos, with Laos fully integrated into the French Indochina union in 1898.
During the Laotian Civil War (1959-1975), the conclusion of which would result in the end of the Kingdom of Laos and the establishment of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, forces of the Pathet Lao were stationed in a cave on the outskirts of Muang Ngoi. Due to the ever present threat of bombing raids by the Royal Lao Air Force, Muang Ngoi was uninhabitable for roughly two years, with hundreds of villagers forced to relocate to nearby Tham Kaang cave for shelter. Muang Ngoi’s original three temples (the oldest dating to the 16th century) were also destroyed by American bombs and planes flown by Thai pilots.
|
|
| Favourite spots: |
|
If one yearns for an idyllic, laidback, village-like setting along the lushly forested bank of a picturesque river flanked by scenic limestone karst ridge lines, where the only paved thoroughfare in town is the long flight of concrete steps leading up from the anchored pontoon docks, has a quaint dirt road Main Street lined with an assortment of rustic homes, shophouses and the occasional curbside street food vendor stall with a prominent & photogenic limestone karst peak at its south end, and a road out of town that affords trekkers stunning views of rice paddies backed by majestic wooded karst hills en route to an ethnic Tai Deng village, then Muang Ngoi should be added to one’s Laos itinerary. Strolling Main Street to take in the local color is pleasant anytime of the day or evening, with the drifting morning cloud-like patches of localized fog off the river briefly veiling the karst peak south of town, lending an almost mystical ambiance to the setting.
|
|
| What's really great: |
|
Early in the morning of my stay in Muang Ngoi, I was awoken by the sound of a distant large wooden gong being repeatedly struck at the Wat up Main Street from my guest house bungalow. I knew the tolling of the gong was the signal that the morning precession of monks begging for alms was about to begin, and quickly threw on some clothes & grabbed my cell phone to go out and take video clips of the daily ritual common through much of Southeast Asia. Through my closed bungalow door, I could hear the low murmur of conversations in Lao and the gritty slapping of approaching flip-flops on the dirt road of the assembled donors just outside the guesthouse’s compound wall. After joining the donors out front and capturing images of the monk offerings, I followed the procession to the south end of the village and took more images of both the monks and the local color & vibe of the village in the morning hours.
|
|
| Sights: |
|
On the road from the boat dock, Tham Kaang is a cave about a 20 to 30 minute walk from the center of town that was used as a shelter for villagers from aerial bombardment during the Laotian Civil War and the Indochina War, with the similar Tham Pra Kaew shelter cave located north of town. The ethnic Tai Deng village of Ban Na lies a 1-hour trek beyond Tham Kaang cave, with the route passing through dry-farmed rice paddies. Muang Ngoi hosts 10-day rotating morning market bringing in residents from the surrounding ethic minority Tai Deng villages. Given my itinerary, I missed the rotating market per one of the local residents, though in the morning hours after the offering of alms to the local monks, a number of curbside stalls selling street food, produce, ‘protein’ (meat, poultry & fish) and other items setup and open for business along Main Street, some staying open throughout the evening. Muang Ngoi’s Wat Okad lies at the north end of Main Street.
|
|
| Accommodations: |
I stay a night at one of Lattanavongsa’s bungalows located near the intersection of the village’s unpaved Main Street with the inclined dirt road that, heading in the direction of the Nam Ou River, ends at the long flight of concrete steps leading down to the anchored pontoon boat dock, and in the opposite direction leads out of the village, past a cave that was used by the villagers as a bomb shelter during the Indochina War, and continues on to the ethnic minority Tai Deng village of Ban Na. Additional guesthouse rooms are available closer to the river near the Lattanavongsa Restaurant, where my guide and I ate lunch, dinner and breakfast in the morning.
Address: Main Street (at the road to the boat dock), Muang Ngoi Laos
Phone: +856 20 23 863 640
|
|
| Nightlife: |
|
Muang Ngoi is very quaint and peaceful, and more so in the evening hours. In addition to the restaurants serving alcohol, there was a guesthouse at the corner of Main Street and the road to the dock that had what looked to be a small bar facing Main Street, with a few people at one of the tables and some music playing softly. During my walk along the length of Main Street from the dock road and back, I did recall seeing a bar at the south dead-end but didn’t check it out. On the walk back to my guesthouse where I would stop for my grilled street sausage and some snacks from a small shophouse market, I would hear a live Lao or Thai karaoke session in-progress and thought it might be a bar, but the source of the sound would later be found to be a private home.
|
|
| Hangouts: |
|
One of the establishments like Lattanavongsa Restaurant that features tables on an outdoor patio deck overlooking the Nam Ou River with either a cup of Lao coffee or 400 year old deep-rooted Phongsali green tea on a cool morning with the still waters reflecting the wooded ridge lines and passing riverboats, or during the day or evening with a Beerlao would be a good hangout candidate, as would the guesthouse patio bar facing Main Street near the intersection with the road to the pontoon docks with a bit of music playing softly in the background at the end of the day.
|
|
| Restaurants: |
|
Lattanavongsa Restaurant, associated with the guesthouse I stay at, was where my guide and I ate lunch, dinner and breakfast in the morning. The food was good and the restaurant has both covered open air seating and also seating on the uncovered cantilevered patio deck that looks out onto the river and the floating pontoon docks. I had their chicken fried rice for lunch and stir fried pork noodles for dinner (both meals accompanied by Beerlao Dark), and an improvised breakfast sandwich from the included set menu breakfast’s baguette and two over-easy eggs with a sprinkle of Maggi Seasoning Sauce, which I had out on the patio as speakers somewhere behind me played breakfast-appropriate mellow Jazz. My prior dinner was supplemented afterwards by a spicy grilled sai oua Lao sausage from a Main Street evening food vendor stall during a stroll.
|
|
| Other recommendations: |
The stretch of the Nam Ou River between Muang Ngoi and Nong Khiaw is particularly scenic, and the cruise itself quite relaxing despite the droning growl of the riverboat’s gas engine housed in the closed-off section of the aft cabin behind a Western sit-down toilet. My two-day cruise from Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw with the Muang Noi stopover was very enjoyable and worth considering. As I am still having problems uploading photos to my Globosapiens account, links to my videos of my morning in Muang Ngoi and the Nam Ou River cruise recounted above are included below.
Morning in Muang Ngoi:
https://youtu.be/FpODBhy8N5w?si=P8ozr9-F--XpiSG33K
Nam Ou River Cruise - Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw:
https://youtu.be/56b8m1tkTZE?si=8p6EaRR1iSdLXfad
|
|
Published on Sunday September 15th, 2024
|
|
Publish on Facebook
|
| Information: |
| Login if you are a member, or sign up for a free membership to rate this report and to earn globo points! |
|
| Burma |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Cambodia |
|
|
|
| France |
|
|
|
|
|
| Germany |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 votes
