The Restaurant District

[The_Traveler]

(I might have posted this before and not marked the LR db, if so, ignore it.)


Main Street, the restaurant district in Muang Khua

From wikitravel - note that there are 8,ooo kip to one USD approx

Muang Khua is a small town in the Phongsali Province of northern Laos. Most people use it as a transit town (the halfway point between several other places), but it has its own charm.

(as we got there a bunch of French tourists got off the bus from Dien Bien Phu. We got to know one couple and rented a boat to go downstream with them two days later)

Muang Khua can be reached from four directions: the Nam Ou river crosses through it from north to south, while the roads head east and west.

By road
To the west, lies the transit hub of Muang Xay. Buses travel fairly frequently throughout the day, and cost 35,000 Kip. Travel time is between 2-3 hours (depending on the size of the bus). The Muang Khua bust station is 2km from Muang Khua itself in a village called Ban Dan Neua. Tuk tuks can take you from the station to the village for 5,000 Kip.

In the east, the road connects Muang Khua to the northenmost border crossing with Vietnam, near the Vietnamese city of Dien Bien Phu. Buses are supposed to leave daily now from Dien Bien Phu's bus station early in the morning. Travel time should be around 4-5 hours. The road is good quality to the Vietnamese border but it is still a bit of a bumpy journey from there to Dien Bien Phu.

By boat
Muang Khua is about halfway between in the north Phongsali and the backpacker-popular village of Muang Ngoi Neua, with connections further south to Luang Prabang. A boat from Muang Ngoi Neua upstream costs between 120,000 and 150,000 Kip depending on the number of pessengers, and from Nong Khiaw costs 120,000 Kip. These boats typically only run when there are enough tourists to make it worth the drivers' while, so you may have to wait a few days for one travelling in your desired direction.

Get around
Muang Khua can be covered by foot.

See

• 
  
  
  • The suspended footbridge.
  • The market, in the centre of town tucked in down a small side alley. There are good local fruits and vegetables and cheap Khao Soi is available.

Do
Trekking and visiting native villages can both be done in the area. The town's tourist information (open Mon-Fri) has information on what is available.

Buy
There are two ATMs in town - BCEL and LDB, both situated near the crossroads at the centre of town, although the machines may not always be working. The ATMs dispense currency in Lao kip and generally allow a maximum withdrawal of 1,000,000 kip with a charge of 20,000 kip. Multiple withdrawals are allowed to a daily maximum of 5,000,000 kip. (Feb 2013) It is also possible to change US dollars and baht into Kip in one of the currency exchanges in town. As of June 2012, there were two places in town that exchanged money at reasonable rate.

Eat
There are many places to eat in town - most of the dozen or so guesthouses serve food.

The local market serves cheap (10,000 Kip) khao soi, which you can enjoy with surprised locals anytime of the day. Namou Guesthouse on the riverfront serves food all day round and has a nice view of Nam Ou and the boats passing by.

Sleep
There are around a dozen guesthouses and hotels in town with prices varying from 30,000 Kip to 80,000 Kip ($3.75 to $10)
for a double bed room. Guesthouses on the main road can be noisy with the traffic passing through town.

Contact
Internet is available in town at the far end near the Wat, and in one of the guesthouses just past the tourist information on the left hand side. Fast 3G reception is also available.

(I am singularly attached to these photos because that was the best trip I've ever taken.)

 

[weepete]

Looks awesome Lew.

 

[The_Traveler]

Thanks,
There is no more free feeling than being in a tiny place 12,000 miles from your home, sitting on a veranda looking out at a river and seeing the occasional sampan go by in the dark.

This is the view during the day. Before the new concrete bridge, all vehicles had to ford the river to continue on the road to Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam.
The river is quite shallow and it's routine to feel the boat bottom out. .

totally scary suspension pedestrian bridge, the boards are loosely attached and many are cracked, the bridge sways with the wind.
that's my friend who travels with me.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Thanks for sharing these great images with us!

 

[FITBMX]

Cool!
How was the food in the restaurant district?