Northern Laos- Jungle Fever in Udomxai and Luang Namtha, 9-11 July 2015

We headed further north to Luang Namtha intending to spend a few days there before crossing the border to China. In order to avoid another long exhausting ride we decided to stopover in Udomxai (sometimes called Maung Xai) for the night and continue to Luang Namtha the next day. 

It was still a long day that started with a 35- minute boat from Muang Ngoi to Nong Khiaw, then a 50- minute shared tuktuk to Pakmong where we changed to a minivan that dropped us in Udomxai after 3 hours. This is the time to mention that the roads in Laos are in very bad shape, the rides are bumpy and you should expect delays. Udomxai turned out to be a dusty and rather charmless transport town with noticeable Chinese influence, but we made the most of it by visiting a few markets and a temple with a standing Buddha, and eating a nice  Chinese style vegetarian barbecue.

barbecued oyster mushrooms and spring onions

Jungle trek in Luang Namtha

the next morning we took a bus from Udomxai and reached Luang Namtha after a 3 hours drive which was surprisingly smooth. We booked a one day trek in Luang Namtha visiting a few villages and hiking through a thick bamboo jungle. It was a very sweaty and pretty strenuous walk but we enjoyed the company of our local guide and a lovely French family who joined us on the trek. There are many trekking agencies around town, we booked with a guy who calls himself Itzik (I don't remember the actual name of the company) because he offered us the cheapest deal and seemed to be popular. We paid 180,000 Kip per person for a 5 hour trek including transport, food, water and a guide. We stayed at the friendly Manichan guesthouse for 55,000 Kip a night. 

jungle cooking inside bamboo

bamboo forest

tofu sandwich in Bamboo Lounge restaurant