Nong Khiaw - Invitation to Breathe

Free Massage! On December 7th, 2nd Advent, we will drive from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw. A small village in northern Laos. Free Massage? Our driver (thankfully an SUV and a cautious driver), immediately explained what he meant: if you have no massage, you are not in Laos. Potholes, gravel, potholes, gravel. It's true, a ride includes a free massage!

Nong Khiaw, a peaceful place, a place to pause. We have a wonderful bungalow with a terrace where we can spend hours relaxing. From sunrise to sunset, no problem. Just sitting, watching, reading, sorting photos...

Plans like kayaking, temple visits, renting a scooter, and exploring the area are put aside. The desire to take a boat tour remains, but develops differently: we meet Anni and Bernd. They are traveling with their daughter and tell us they will take a boat from Nong Khiaw to Muang Khua, a town near the Vietnamese border. We are so excited that we will also take this tour - however, not for a border crossing, but one day upstream on the Nam OU river and the next day back.

We decided spontaneously yesterday to check everything out from above: Phadeng Peak Viewpoint. At first, I couldn't assess if and how I would manage this climb. It's challenging, but I made it! This summit photo had to be taken! I am again touched by the reminder at the beginning of the ascent to please stay on the path. There are still bombs left from the Vietnam War dropped by the United States on Laos to prevent the Vietnamese from moving in border areas.

Nong Khiaw: 3 days of peace! Now follows 3 days of action: upstream - downstream - drive back to Luang Prabang :-).