Muang Ngoi Neua

Introducing Muang Ngoi Neua

The tourist trail has well and truly found this idyllic village, tucked away on a peninsula on the Nam Ou, but unless you’re here in peak season the locals still outweigh the falang. Flanked by shadowy, majestic mountains on all sides, it’s a pretty spot to hang the boots for a few days, or rather give them a workout on some picturesque trekking. Because it’s cut off from regular roadways by that steep mountain range, Muang Ngoi Neua remains isolated and small (perhaps that’s why the rooster cacophony seems louder here), and the narrow dirt footpaths lined with coconut palms that act as roads are trafficked only by unhurried pedestrians or two-wheeled transport.

Like most river villages in Laos, Muang Ngoi Neua’s basic layout parallels the river on which the village once depended for its traditional livelihoods, fishing and farming. Tourism, however, has now become the main source of income and every second building seems to be a guesthouse or restaurant in need of business.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009