Photo tour of the sheer rock cliffs, lazy rivers, and green rice paddies that make up Northern Laos.
First beer in Laos!
In case you don't want to drive your motorcycle, you can put it on a bus.
Laos Disney World?
Monks hanging out at the fair
fair food… to clarify… carnival… we passed on the chicken feet
there is an obsession with angry birds in this region… this is the first time we've seen them on a skewer!
holding down the fort. kids start in security services early?
bathroom breaks occur on the roadside. since Laos is 90% forest, it's pretty easy to find a spot
rice paddies and mountains
3 little piggies
bamboo paper hanging up to dry
an old truck, now a drying rack. garlic.
indigo
cows preparing the rice paddies
slash and burn logging. we saw this all over Laos
Lina doing the local version of the electric slide at an Akha tribe wedding outside of Muang Sing
dancing at an Akha tribe wedding outside of Muang Sing
The dance floor cleared as a young man brings another crate of Beer Lao
Just outside our window inthe morning was a herd of water buffalo
just like in Burma, these engines strapped to two wheels were fairly popular in rural Laos and were often towing a cart with another two wheels
Yao village gate
the leaning tower of an Akha… notice the two poles on the left attempting to keep it up?
the younger kids were wondering what we were doing, but the older ones wanted to see their picture in my camera
and Lina got them all to jump… well almost.
Adima, our guesthouse, gave us a nice map. We did a 10 mile loop across most of the villages on the right side of the main road.
a banana flower blooms spawning new bananas
and it keeps growing and repeating the bloom
kids see Lina
kids start running towards Lina
ambushed!
overexposed photos can be beautiful
Akha village swing
a peaceful afternoon on the rice paddies
these shacks are where field workers take breaks during the long days of the wet season
most skin products here were devoted to skin whitening, rather than skin darkening
live chickens for sale, under baskets and in pens. live fish in those tubs of water
or you can go inside to get one that has already been killed and plucked
the sun rises over the Muang Sing market. You have to get up early--it runs from 6-8am.
it's so cold in the morning here that the condensed milk is barely pouring
a local headdress
a local tribe headdress
with each vendor offering almost the same thing. how is one to choose?
counting this mornings profits
a weed whacker tied to the motorbike… that can stop someone from tailgating… for sure
looks like the Chinese border (~8km away) hasn't opened yet. This road was swamped with trucks going to China full of wood and coming back empty.
Adima bungalows. much nicer that we expected, considering they are brick with a concrete foundation
Adima's cats
neat bacci ball score board… bottle caps on a string… the measuring tape means whoever plays here is serious
on our motorbike from Muang Sing back to Luang Namtha
slash and burn logging in the burn phase
crossing the bamboo bridge
sunset over the outskirts of Nong Khiaw
motion blur art
breaking into the game?
little bit of futbol… watch out for that bike!
t-rex at a Buddhist temple? weird? or some sort of sign?
climbing up on the ruins of the old temple in Luang Namtha
at the top of the old temple in Luang Namtha
insane greens across the wet rice paddies
the hard sell… "DELICIOUS FLAVOR. Really very crisp, eating will not forget. ENJOY
Anyone else notice something wrong with this box? sliming diet? gross
just a little tight in here… plenty of headroom though
dead rats for sale
Does this look make you want to buy the squirrels?
meat, blood and maggots
panorama
sifting for something?
a watermelon boat
gathering wood
reflections
just another day on the beach
home made hydroelectric power
the main drag on Muang Ngoy
behold… a beach on a river--with crazy hills all around
what rubber ducks were modeled after
and this guy wants into the club… I think for the food
and as the powerlines went up--some say things will never be the same
exploring a nearby cave
but the mouth was the most beautiful part
greens and pinks
a butterfly colony
a butterfly colony invaded by Lina!
more home made hydroelectric power
a fertile valley amongst rolling hills
a newly built road leads back to town
river sunset
the "original" breakfast buffet in Muang Ngoy has a really cute dog that took a liking to us
supposedly the guy who now owns this leopard-like cat, bought it from a Hmong trader that already sold this cats dead mother
doing laundry in the river as the boats prepare to cast off
just drag the fish. keeps the stench out of the boat
riverview bungalows in Muang Ngoy
diving for? actually, this guy looks a bit like a sea monster running towards our boat
Nong Khiaw bungalows
Nong Khiaw town
Nong Khiaw river and bungalows
Nong Khiaw town
family fishing
rock
walking on water? no, shutter caught this kid doing a backflip into water
sifting for gold… no, really
just wading through the rapids. no big deal
gold sifters everywhere
our speculation is that this may be either a dam or for the high speed rail line that is supposed to connect Luang Prabang with China
Does this sign give any clues?
Slash and burn
I sat in the hot seat… err splash zone
a larger gold sifting station
must not be getting too much gold today… otherwise, I'd expect more action from this guy
ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no river long enough… to keep me away from Luang Prabang
little Buddhist shrines at the Pak Ou cave
guarding the water
a shrine looking very curious
Pak Ou shrines
slash and burn
More Northern Laos
For tips on backpacking Northern Laos, read about how we spent one week in the North part of Laos.
What was your favorite picture? Let us know in the comments!
Comments