Nong Khiaw and the Lao New Year

From Udomaxy we hit the road towards a small town called Nong Khiaw on the Nam Ou river a little over 115k away. To beat the heat we made an early departure from Udomaxy, rolling out of town just before 5:30am. As somebody who has never been an early riser I have amazed even myself with my capacity to drag myself out of bed that early in the morning. I guess when the choice is getting up early, or biking in the middle of the day through tropical heat, it's not hard to figure out why I don't mind. The early start helped us slay the first big hills of the day during the cool morning hours and left us with a nice 22k downhill into our lunch stop at Pak Mong a little before noon. As we rode into Pak Mong we got our first experience of they celebrate the New Year here in Laos. The entire country morphs into a battle ground for an epic three day, nationwide, water fight.

As we rolled in to Pak Mong the water fight began, although since we never really fought back it wasn't much of a fight. A group of kids manning the entrance to town spotted us coming a couple hundred meters down the road and excitedly ran to their water sources and filled up whatever they had available, pots, pans, bowls, buckets; pretty much anything that held water. Just as we passed their was a chorus of Sabaidee's followed by a sudden downpour of water as all of their water receptacles were emptied out onto us. A shop owner hosing down his front steps joined in on the fun, letting a stream loose upon us from across the street. I will say the mid-afternoon drenching went a long way to cool me off as the temperatures began to really crank up. Sitting in Pak Mong eating lunch and avoiding the heat we saw a procession of cars, trucks, and motorcycles that had passed through the same watery gauntlet as we had with the same results, a thorough drenching. Watching people dripping with water ride by on their motorcycles was an entertaining way to spend the afternoon.

Upon leaving Pak Mong after a long lunch, we learned that our first drenching was merely a prelude of what was to come. The final 26k from Pak Mong to Nong Khiaw was when we really got blasted. We only passed three or four town, but everybody in those towns was ready. The entrance and exit to each town was manned by a brigade of children with varying means of dispensing water onto those who happened to pass by. As we approached each posse of kids there would be a flurry of movement as they prepared for our arrival, followed by the unleashing of a torrent of water upon us as we passed. After only two towns I was dripping, and remained in a various states of being drenched courtesy of the various water brigades we passed. It was a great experience to have the locals take such great pleasure including us in their celebrations.

Besides the entertainment provided by the water posses, the ride itself was beautiful. Riding away from Pak Mong we entered into a bucolic landscape of vibrant green rice paddies backed by rolling hills of jungle. As we continued toward our destination, the flat landscape dotted with paddies slowly grew into towering walls of limestone until we arrived at Nong Khiaw, nestled along the Nam Ou river which cuts a narrow valley through the limestone cliffs and mountains that loom over it. To take in the poetic scenery, we scored a riverside bungalow that came equipped with a porch and hammocks to soak up the views. There have been plenty of relaxing moments on this trip, but laying in a hammock overlooking the Nam Ou river is right up there at the top.