Laos: Muang Khoa + Oudom Xay

We strategically chose to sleep near the bus station in Dien Bien Phu because we knew the bus leaving for Laos departed at 5am. We woke up at the last possible moment and went to claim our seats. There were a few other travelers as well as locals that brought lots of cargo along with them. On our way out of town we stopped every few minutes to pick up packages and more people. These daily trips seem to take the place of DHL in these parts. From my point of view, the drivers and assistants do a fantastic job remembering what packages get dropped off in which location.

Typical minibus - goods on top, people within.

A short distance (but long amount of time due to several stops) later, we were at the Tey Trang border leaving Vietnam. Once all passengers made it through, we drove another few kilometers to enter Laos. We paid all of the random fees they assign to foreigners – temperature check, various processing fees – and were happy to be in Laos. Sam and I came here back in August 2011 to do his research project and had a wonderful 3 weeks in the country and I was excited to be back. I tried not to get my hopes up and keep in mind that 2 years time makes a big difference over here – things may not be as I remembered.

View from the road - Laos.

Happily, Laos treated us well from the start with its gorgeous landscape and friendly people. Our first stop, Muang Khoa, is a small town that draws most foreigners (like us) as a transit change station. Arriving here, we had the option of a bus or boat to the next city. Seeing the small boat and hearing from those who had recently disembarked, we decided that a bus would be our best option. We had a few hours before the next bus and walked around the town.

Muang Khoa.

Anti-drug campaign sign.

Slow boats on the river.

This bridge really put a swing in your step.

Roosters + rubbish.

River - with the rickety bridge crossing.

After enjoying the scenery, we flagged down a tuk-tuk to take us to the bus station. The station has only three slots for minibuses to park in and is the most quaint I’ve ever been to. We purchased our tickets and looked around for a place to wait around for the hour before we were due to leave. There was a guy playing a bocce-like game by himself and Sam went to join. They played for a while and were joined by two more to make it a real game. I enjoyed watching the menfolk play and observed the happenings of the station - including the chickens walking around me hoping to score some scraps of my banana chips.

Bus station, Muang Khoa.

Only 130 kilometers, but 4 hours from Muang Khoa, is the town of Oudom Xay. Another small town, it’s considerably livelier than Muang Khoa – it had a karaoke club! On the short drive between the two towns, I had noticed signs of Chinese influence in the area – Chinese and Lao flags with two hands shaking in between, Chinese license plates on the trucks that passed us by. Oudom Xay itself was filled with shops, restaurants and guesthouses that had Chinese writing and Sam was able to speak with some of the storeowners in Mandarin. There wasn’t too much in the way of sightseeing in Oudom Xay, but we did walk up to the temple for a nice view of the city.

Buddha at Phou That Mountain.

Oudomxay from above.

These first two towns in Laos treated us well and I had a good feeling about the rest of our stay (knock on wood).