The town does not come with stellar reviews. Our Lonely Planet even goes so far as to say that oftentimes travellers’ favorite part of Uodomxay is the bus that zooms them onwards to better places. The sentiment is understandable: the town is a brash clash of Chinese business and know-how with a dusty feel and loud main street. Many of the signs are in Chinese, and I vividly remember one Chinese man in his BMW loudly honking, rushing someone working at the store inside.
As to why there’s this huge influence, Uodomxay is the first large (for Laos) town from the road to China, and Chinese influence is fast spreading into the region. This included many Chinese restaurants, businesses, fast food chain, a future train station, and a supermarket/department store with some wonderful knock-offs.
Against all odds, it ended up being my favorite place in Laos, and is home to some of the best memories on my trip.
The whole story started with us having to buy our bus ticket onward to Nong Khiaw. For the first time in a long time, the hotel front desk did not speak English, and did not arrange bus tickets like they usually do. That was fine, as the bus station was only a 10 minute walk down the main street. It then quickly became not fine, as upon talking to the ticket counter at the bus station, we found out there was a second bus station 7km south, and that was where we had to buy the tickets.
I was far too tired and beat to walk 14km, so I set out to find a travel agency to see if they could arrange tickets (i.e.: make a phone call). I found one not too far from the hotel, only to find out that they booked flights, not buses. I went to another, only to find out it was a bulldozed lot. I then go to a motorbike rental place to see if they have one for rent. They only had manuals, and as much as I wanted to learn, this was not the time and place for that. Thoroughly discouraged, I stumble into the next door Singha Hotel, and asked the receptionist. She didn’t know English, but did know the words “bus ticket”. She looked at me and kind of shook her head no, and I pleaded, so she said one second.
A minute or two later, someone comes down to help me, and huzzah! He speaks English. I had so many questions, and he thankfully answered all of them, and explained that we could buy our bus tickets when we arrive at the other bus station just an hour or more before we leave.
I asked him his name, and Singkham soon invited me to a hangout he was having with some of his friends later in the evening. I happily accepted, and Lena and I were picked up, and headed to a riverside hangout via a quick stop to grab plenty of BeerLao (BeerLao is probably the most internationally recognized Lao product, as its exported to dozens of countries and for good reason: it’s the best national beer I’ve had to date by a large margin).
We learned that it was a celebration of Lao National Women’s Day, and we were led to a spot right on the river that was owned by one of Singkham’s friends, nicknamed Mr. Lame. It was a fantastic spot too, and I got some nostalgia of the times I would spend on the river back home in Richmond. Even better was the huge feast, plentiful beer, and numerous friends waiting for us there.
The hospitality and good times were incredible, even though only Singkham and Mr. Lame were the only ones who could speak English. We learned their cheers (and “mot” [pronounced like moat], which means bottoms up!), and showed them some of ours. We snacked on Seaweed Chips and fried tofu, and soon moved to the main course of Sardine Soup (freshly caught, of course), and a Chinese Lao Hotpot that was all sorts of tangy and spicy.
And it was all so much fun! We carried on and enjoyed ourselves well into the night with our many new friends, and absolutely loved our time: a welcome high from the many difficult moments that Laos had brought us so far. It was also so refreshing, a needed change from the constant traveling and sightseeing, one new accommodation after the other. They even drove us right back to our hotel, and it was a magical feeling, a high that can only come from having a enthralling and nourishing social outing, coupled with the thrill and buzz on the back of a motorbike. It was by far one of the best days I’ve had on the trip, so a huge thank you to Singkham and everyone else who made it a night to remember.
While nothing else was as notable during our three days in Oudomxay, we did get a splash of Chinese culture through the massive Chinese supermarket there and the nearby restaurant. It was fun and interesting seeing all of the different (and some of the same) brands that proliferated throughout the supermarket, and it also sold shoes, appliances, and kitchenware, some hilariously off brand. We also decided to try some food at the riverside restaurant, but upon seeing what we had ordered (I got a whole chicken, chopped up in some unknown and unappetizing sauce, and Lena got some dish that was either mushrooms or pork, with another strange sauce), we quickly balked and got a second lunch at the fast food chain in the supermarket. We ordered a familiar chicken sandwich and popcorn chicken, which was similar enough to American style fast food. We would have eaten there initially, but the power had been out all morning and the fast food chain was closed.
Nong Khiaw
After our 3 day stint in Oudomxay, we faced the buses again, and headed to the bus stop to get our tickets so we could head on to Nong Khiaw, a popular backpacking stop on the Laos tourist trail. It was an equally unfun bus ride, but for different reasons: they squeezed 16(!) people into a minivan. The only one who may have had it worse than the rest of us was the poor chicken who was strapped to the top of the bus.
Nong Khiaw was a pleasant and lazy last stop of our pilgrimage through rural Northern Laos, and i really enjoyed it. We stayed at a riverfront hotel with inviting bungalows and balconies that looked over the river and a massive karst on the other side. It rained just about the whole time we were there, so we took it easy, recovering from another hellish bus ride.The scenery was just lovely too, surrounded by karsts with clouds speckled around, giving the area a comforting and ethereal feel to it.
That’s about it for rural Laos — we headed to the ever-popular Luang Prabang from there, and then to capital city Vientiane, which I’ll cover in the next post.
