On Sunday morning I left Thailand as my visa only had a couple of days left until it expired. I was debating between crossing into Myanmar or Laos, although with all the problems currently happening in Myanmar going to Laos was a no brainer. I'd love to go to Myanmar one day, just preferably at time when I'm less likely to die. On paper getting to Laos was as simple as stamping out of Thailand, crossing a bridge over the Mekong, and then getting stamped into Laos. This wasn't the case however, as when catching the local bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong, the border town, the bus didn't actually take you to the border as advertised. This left me and several other people at the mercy of the tuk tuk drivers, and I had no choice but to take one to the border.
When reaching the border it was empty, getting stamped out of Thailand with ease. When getting to the Laos side however I had a few problems, as I didn't realise they had an entrance fee to get in which they would only accept in US Dollars, Thai Baht, or Laos Kip. My issue was the fact I was dealing in NZ dollars, and didn't have enough Thai Baht left to pay the fee, with the money exchange booth not able to exchange NZ dollars. This faced me with the prospect of having to return to Thailand to change some NZ dollars into Baht to pay the entry, although luckily someone kindly agreed to buy some off me at a fair rate under the circumstances so I eventually got my visa.
When finally getting into Laos in the town of Huay Xai, I waited at the border for the bus to Luang Namtha to arrive, an increasingly popular place for trekking and cultural experiences. In the 1970s during the Vietnam War Laos closed its borders to tourism and only reopened them again in the 1990s, but restricted people to visiting just Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane. The northern and southern regions of Laos only opened to tourists in the mid 2000s. Therefore what many backpackers do from Huay Xai is catch a slow boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang over 2 days, and then visit the aforementioned places before crossing back into Thailand. This means places like Luang Namtha where I was heading have only recently experienced tourism so I knew I had to be prepared for pretty basic infrastructure.
I didn't arrive into Luang Namtha until late in the end, and the bus station was frustratingly 8km out of town which was not a walk I really wanted so late, but I got there eventually! The following day I explored Luang Namtha and some of the nearby villages, going by foot. I would have loved to have done some trekking in the nearby national park to some of the hilltribe villages but that was only realistic on a guided trek as it was remote and the tourist office didn't supply maps for that, just maps for the Luang Namtha area. I therefore had a walk round the town which didn't have much other than a few shops, restaurants, and trekking companies. There was a morning market just outside town though which was interesting, in particular the meat area which spared no parts of animals, with literally things like heads and organs for sale!
From the market I headed to That Luang Namtha which was this golden stupa surrounded by a few Buddha related relics. Nearby there I went for a short walk through this valley which was really pretty. From there I headed out of town towards the Nam Dee Waterfall, via a couple of the local villages. It was very poor although many of the locals waved as I passed through. The expansive rice fields along the way were also quite a sight.
When arriving at the waterfall there was a circuit through the jungle which basically followed this stream via the waterfall, and then back over the hill into the nearby village. It was very humid though. I headed back the same way towards Luang Namtha, although just prior to town I did a detour via the river which was nice. When returning to the town itself I just relaxed, before heading out in the evening to the night market, which was only small and but had several "what the hell is that?" dishes which people were cooking on these charcoal bbqs. I luckily found something safe to eat though!
On Tuesday I hired a bike for the day to explore some of the surrounding ethnic minority villages. The tourism office supplied me with a good map of the Luang Namtha Valley which displayed a cycle route taking you through the villages. First stop was That Poumpuk, another golden stupa situated next to the ruins of one which was bombed by the Americans in the Vietnam War. There were great views from the top too. Nearby the stupa was the Akha village of Ban Nam Matmai, which was probably the most picturesque village of the day. It was interesting because at the entrance to each village there was an information board telling you about the history, including where they originated from and some of their traditions.
The next village I stopped in was Ban Phieng Ngam, which was particularly famous for its weaved products, associated with the Tai Daeng people who lived there. It was interesting seeing the local women weave these intricate handicrafts as I passed through. I passed another couple of villages of Tai Daeng origin throughout the day too, one of which was based by river where at a certain time of the year it's apparently quite a sight seeing people extract silk from the silk worms. Between the villages I passed through the countryside was beautiful, and some people call it the 'sea of rice'. The Namtha Valley is surrounded by mountains, but inside that there were rice fields as far as your eye could see which was quite a sight!
Later in the day I passed a couple of villages of Tai Dam origin, which had particularly picturesque vegetable crops. Throughout the day I passed through so many different villages of different ethnic minorities, the information boards in each village helping to put things into context. The people weren't putting on a show, they were just living there everyday life which made it that much more pure. The final village I visited was Had Yao, home of the Hmong people. They were particularly famous for their embroidery making, although I liked watching the kids in the river as they were literally using this sewage pipe as a water slide! It was a really good day, although with all my detours to the villages I was knackered by the end, covering a fair distance on a very basic bike. I caught a night bus to Luang Prabang that evening.
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