Muang Ngoi Neua

Muang Ngoi Neua is a small riverside village in Northern Laos with permanent electricity as of April 2013. Prior to 2013, Muang ngoi had no road access. In the last few years it has become part of the Banana Pancake Trail with rapid construction of tourist infrastructure in response to the increasing influx of visitors. Nevertheless, it remains a low-key destination in a stunning location. Interesting treks can also be done to tribal villages in the area.

Get in

There are 1-hour public boats from Nong Khiaw (daily 11:00 and 14:00, 25.000 kip) or Muang Khua (daily 09:30, 110.000 kip).

In April 2013 Muang Ngoi got a small road. If you have your own vehicle you can reach Muang Ngoi by road but as the trip takes 2.5 hours from Nong Kiew, the boats are the obvious choice for transporting people. It is rumored that a more direct road to Muang Ngoi may complete construction in 2015 thus reducing driving time.

Get out

Take the public boat to Nong Khiaw (every day 9.30am 25.000 kip) or charter a boat to Muang Khua or Luang Prabang. It is also possible to make a one day trek or kayak back to Nong Khiaw.

Although there is a sign at the boat office in Muang Ngoi indicating that there is no scheduled boat to Muang Khua, the local boat operators in Muang Ngoi will insist that there is no scheduled boat going north to Muang Khua, But there is a boat leaving Nong Khiaw at 11:00 daily that stops in Muang Ngoi at 12:00 daily, continuing to Muang Khua. Actual departure times seem to be ~30 minutes late on an average day. The fare is 110,000 kip from Muang Ngoi (or Hod Sa Pheuy) to Muang Khua.

If you do not wish to take the scheduled boat, there is now a board in the little hut where you can buy the boat tickets (follow the signs near the Lattanavongsa restaurant by the boat landing) where you can write down your name for the day you wish to travel to Muang Khua. On the day itself, come to the hut at 9:00AM and as soon as there are 10 people, you can buy your ticket (100,000 kips; 6 hours upstream).

• Update - July 2014* Boat to Muang Khua costs 150000 kip if there are at least 5 people and takes about 5-6 hours. However, when at least 10 people show up the boat the price is reduced to 100000kip/person. During low season you probably have to wait for 1-3 days for a boat, but during high season the boat most often leaves daily. There is also a boat from Nong Khiaw that stops in Muang Ngoi sometime after midday and proceeds to Muang Khua, but this is difficult to plan around as it only leaves Nong Khiaw when it too has enough passengers.

See

• Traditional Herbal Sauna - at the end of the main walk; last street to the right. Free tea, hot shower included, 15,000 kip run buy a Lao woman and her Swedish husband. Open in beginning of Dry season.

• Nam Ou Beach - At the end of the dry season when water is low, take a cool splash in the Nam Ou or sip from a cocktail on a bamboo stretcher

• Phetdavanh Book Exchange - Change your old books for new ones at this 2 for 1 book exchange with more than 300 titles.

• Tham Kang cave and Tham Pha Kaew cave - east of town, about 40 minutes by foot and can be found without a guide. Follow the dirt/gravel road from the main boat landing and continue as it intersects the town's main road and exits the town. Continue until you reach the Tham Kang cave, which is situated on the left side of the road. These caves used to be a bomb shelter during the Vietnam War era.

After a few twists and turns (aprox 100m in total) in the Tham Kang cave by using the flashlight from your mobile phone you should get to a very small waterfall. Guide yourself by the sound of the falling water. Just before the cave there is an entrance fee of 10,000 kip to access the caves and villages.

You now have to pay for pretty much everything you see/do, usually 10,000 kip. Goes to the 'community' although can't see where. Certainly doesn't go on anything to make navigating the area easier for tourists, signage, trail markers or keeping paths free from overgrown trees/vines/etc.

Do

• Visit surrounding villages, Bana, Huay Bo, and Huay Sen. To Bana, walk ~30min past Tham Kang cave on the same dirt road. The village is clearly visible from the road and will be on your right side. To reach Huay Bo, you have two options; first, you can walk through the Bana village and find the dirt motorbike path on the southern end that exits the village (the easiest way to find it is either ask villagers or circumnavigate the town counterclockwise until you find it), crosses a shallow stream, and leads to Huay Bo. The total time to ride a bicycle to Huay Bo from Muang Ngoi is around 1 hour. A second route is described below in the description for Konesavanh Guesthouse that is more suited for people travelling on foot. There are guest houses in all 3 villages, costing 5,000kip to 20,000kip for a bungalow.

• Live the rural life: homestay in a rural village (Ba Na or Huay Bo) and interact with locals, hunt in a jungle with ancient rifles, fish in the stream with a fishing net, create fire by burning a plastic bottle, cook, and eat what you catch afterwards. Worth seeing are micro hydroelectric plants: villagers use creeks around the village for powering small turbines and producing electricity for some of the houses.

Source http://wikitravel.org/en/Muang_Ngoi