We found the tour guide operator throwing back beers with his buddies in a nearby restaurant. It was easy to understand, we were still in Vang Vieng after all and on top of that it was Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. Now, you’d think that wouldn’t matter much, us being in Laos and all, but – false.

Tet was really causing a log jam in our logistics. Anyone and anything Vietnamese wasn’t working for two weeks, all the embassies and consulates were closed which means we couldn’t arrange our Vietnam visas. So, we had some time to kill. Well, Adam had some other things to kill, but we’ll get to that later.

While we waited until we could get a visa into Vietnam, we decided to spend a few days kayaking laos by way of the Nam Ou river. The tour guide operator, showing the signs of his celebration, reluctantly left his buddies, followed us back into his office, and helped us arrange a three-day kayaking adventure from Nong Khiew to Luang Prabang. 

It was a two-day bus journey to get to the picturesque town, which included one night in Luang Prabang where we left our bags.

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Travel beat in Nong Khiew. Before the real work even starts.
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After spending an afternoon in the beautiful mountain town of Nong Khiew we wished we had more time to spend there. But, the following morning we were standing on the riverside ready to start our voyage down the Nam Ou.
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Peeps with floaties!

New fiends Louise and Martin from Sweden hopped aboard our tour. All of us kayak rookies, we felt pretty psyched to have some other beginners to provide mutual courage and some serious laughs.

The five of us pointed downstream, not sure exactly what to expect from the river, or anything else. The first day on the water was stunning. Surrounded by steep jungle-covered mountains, we left the towns and roads behind as the current took us deeper into the real Laos. The only people we saw were villagers who relied solely on this river for food, water, washing and travel. Even in rural Laos, it seems the most commonly known word is “hello!!”

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Giving us the Captain pose
Lunch break. Kinda pretty, I guess.
Lunch break. Kinda pretty, I guess.

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The mostly gentle river was punctuated by exciting rapids. Nothing too extreme, just enough to make us pay attention and threaten to tip you out of your boat. I mean, that’s what we signed up for after all!

Sloshing through the winding river, we navigated under a massive dam project under construction. A Chinese project, this was a massive structure. We had to shoot the narrow rapids between the massive concrete pillars. On the other side of the dam, we noticed a huge banner requiring hard hats, which probably would have been a good idea.

This dam is not only a tremendous construction project, but there’s a significant amount of side work being done as well. Since a dam creates major water rising on the structures back side, the multitude of local villages who live by their life blood, the river, won’t be able to remain in their current locations. They’ll get flooded out.

So, China is relocating them.

Against the will of these people, they are uprooting their villages to one settled upon higher grounds. They are placing many very different villages together in one space. This will dramatically change their culture. But, on the upside, the government is providing a school and a hospital to this joint town. Something that most of these people have never had at their disposal before.

To our surprise, we were going to be spending the night in the village where most of these people were going to be relocated to. Rapid progress and development are sweeping through the region. We feel lucky we were able to see this place when we did.

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Land being flattened out to build new huts.
He was cracking up at the sight of us. I mean, straight up non stop belly laughs!
He was cracking up at the sight of us. I mean, straight up non stop belly laughs!
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Inquiring about goods at the local mini mart with a mini owner.
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Some locals encouraging their shy little one to say “hello!”

As we explored the village, we were welcomed by everyone we saw. The people were so friendly and seemed so happy. We spent our first evening of the trip with a welcoming, happy family in the expanding riverside village. They were thrilled to have us, and treated it as a special occasion. They invited some friends over for dinner, and prepared a traditional feast. We reminisced about BBQ’s at the cabin, and missed everyone in Boulder lots.

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Our host kitchen.

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The men of the household caught two ducks from the village, and brought them into the yard as our honored dinner. We were humbled to be treated so well, and offered to help prepared the meal in any way we could. Michelle got to prepare some greens, while Adam got a more unexpected job.

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Locals.
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Our host with our second feathered dinner guest.
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Fresh duck for dinner? I mean, the freshest ever.
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Draining the blood from the duck while it’s still alive.

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It was difficult to watch and participate in, but observing them use every piece of the animal made us feel a little more blithe about the situation. Nothing was wasted and everything was delicious. Sauces were made from the blood, bones were used to make soup, and we even ate the feet. These ducks live a completely free life until they get called up for dinner. They are never caged, free to roam the village as they like and go wherever they want. Now THAT’s organic free range for ya.

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liver, skin, etc
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Naked duck!

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Gizzards grillin’!
After dinner, we were offered/forcefully encouraged to enjoy some homemade “tequila.” Shot after shot was consumed around the circle, and laughter got boisterous. Everything they offered, we ate and drank. We were often suspicious of what weird parts of the birds we were eating based on their “OMG LOOK THEY ARE GOING TO EAT IT!” expressions. We sat around drinking late into the night, communicating with our hosts in smiles, embraces, and sign language.
dinner table!
dinner table!
Despite the homemade liquor we were all in good spirits the next morning. We thanked our gracious hosts and pushed off back onto the water for what would be our longest day on the river. We passed countless locals, young and old, so excited to smile, wave, and shout “sawadee!”
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Cannonball!!

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We took some breaks along the way to practice some cannonballs. Martin attempted to scoot off the front of his kayak but his shorts got caught on the canoe mid-jump. Even he couldn’t escape the hilarity of the situation he was in, laughing his head off as he tried to free himself from under the kayak. By the end of the day, everyone had been dumped out of their kayaks by rapids, and everyone enjoyed it.
That night, we pulled out boats onto a beach and set up camp. We collected wood for a fire, drank cold beer, and ate “take out” from a village over the hill from our campsite. But, we weren’t complaining about the delicious food that was delivered with our tents and sleeping bags.
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Good morning, Nam Ou.
Sleeping on the beach sounds romantic, but anyone who’s done it knows that sleeping on sand sucks. It sets up like concrete under your back and almost certainly ensures sore muscles. That, combined with two days of paddling left us thankful we only had one more day left.
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Martin and Louise adding to the beautiful scenery.
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She thought it hilarious how much faster we were going than she was.

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Our last lunch of the trip was complimented by the most stunning scenery of the trip as well. My jaw dropped so deep at the surrounding mountains that it wasn’t hard to keep shoveling sticky rice into it.
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We floated down gentle water, weaving around amazing rock islands and under towering limestone cliffs. Eventually, we reached the confluence with the mighty Mekong river. We felt like ants in our little kayaks, scurrying past enormous ships in the big waters. We reached the opposite bank and joined the throng of tourists visiting the sacred Pak Ou caves, where thousands of Buddha statues reside. Every year, each statue is washed with the holy water that soaks through the stone and seeps into the cave ceiling.
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Another hour or so paddling the massive, insanely strong currents of the Mekong River brought us to our exit spot. We were almost too exhausted and sun burnt to enjoy the Lao Lao being distilled on the bank. Feeling like we’ve had a healthy dose of culture and exercise over the past 3 days, we parted ways with the river feeling content and in love with Laos.