Nong Khiaow

Ended up staying here longer than I expected, it's a great place. Very scenic, very relaxed. I had intended to ship in, quite literally (OK, for you pedants, boat in), then leave the next day but I hung around for an extra day and climbed up to the local view point instead. It's a long trek up, over an hour, but it's well worth the effort!

Dave and Cindy stuck around for longer than expected as well.

For those passing through here, there's some good food to be had here (try Alex for Laos and Deen's for Indian), and plenty of accommodation in a variety of price ranges. Stopped at Delilahs (on the west bank), the owner Hamish has some information from cyclists who've done the stretch the Luang Prabang. Unfortunately despite a long search it couldn't be unearthed. Still, he's putting together a folder of useful stuff like that so worth going for coffee and cake.

Again, if you're travelling through the boat to Luang Prabang no longer runs due to the hydroelectric plant being built on the Nam Ou. Whilst I was there a Swiss Australian couple did manage to charter a boat to take them and their bikes to the point where the Nam Ou meets Highway 13 again for 500,000 kip. This leaves a 70km ride. I bumped into them in Luang Prabang and they said it all went well, however the rain had turned the first 500m after the landing into a foot thick quagmire.