Sabaidee Laos!

We had been told how friendly and laid back the Laotian people are, but didn't quite believe it until we got there and it was a whole different environment then Vietnam. You pass people on the street and you get a strong 'Sabaidee' (hello!) with a broad smile and a wave, from adults and children alike. The difference between Laos and anywhere else we've been is that you often have to beg people to work, whether ordering food at a restaurant or trying to get somewhere in a tuk tuk. The two of us and a Spanish couple were told the boat to Nong Khiau would leave at 9:30AM, then when they could only round up a few of us to take the boat, the boatmen told us that it was too expensive, we should just take a bus - but, after begging them to take us, we negotiated a price and left a few hours later. We climbed into a thirty foot long wooden boat, only about four feet across, which was colorfully painted, with a driver in front and a motor in back, and we slowly made our way downstream to Nong Khiau.

The ride was scenic down the Nam Ou river through the karsts of NE Laos, the banks were dotted with tiny villages, naked children splashing in the muddy river, and loads of water buffalo with their heads just surfacing the water. Along the way we stopped at a few villages, picked up more passengers, bags of rice, and a few chickens. They shared their lunch with the four of us - sticky rice, a spicy black dip, and some sort of root vegetable (which looked like a leek but had a bland flavor similar to a potato). Sticky rice is made by placing steamed rice in a bamboo box, which almost solidifies the grain, turning into none the less than sticky rice. And, like a roti in India, it is used as a utensil or dipping device. You rip a handful out of the communal pot, squish it around in your hands, rolling inbetween them (as if you were making a clay coil) and when the rice is formed into a firm enough ball, you start layering it with flavors.

After switching boats mid way, we landed in Nong Khiau, a small town of a few thousand locals, and in the current low season, just a handful of tourists. The town cradled both sides of the river and was nestled in between the towering karsts covered in jungle vegetation.