We take a bus from Huay Xai to Luang Nam Tha.
Our ultimate goal is to get ourselves over to Nong Khiaw, but the journey directly there is longer than we want to travel in one day. So we decide our best bet is to break it up, which is why we find ourselves arriving in Luang Nam Tha early afternoon. Eric and I drop our bags off at a guesthouse and begin exploring the town.
It looks like a festival is going on, as there are tents set up along the side of the road and loads of men sitting at tables, drinking “Lao Lao” – Laos rice whiskey – and playing cards. We walk by, intrigued by the scene, only to find ourselves being summoned over by one of the older gentleman. Eric and I smile and politely decline, but he’s very insistent, so we head on over.
The next thing we know we’re doing shot after shot of Lao Lao and trying to have a conversation with our new friends Buon Than, Dom Keo, Kham and Bua Xay. But seeing as we don’t speak Laos and they don’t speak English, the range of topics is very limited… what our names are, where we are from, where the whiskey is from, etc.
As Eric says, “whiskey” in Laos is really a loose term for what we in Canada would call “moonshine”. And after four shots of “whiskey” in 10 minutes, we try to make a graceful exit. I’m not partial to the taste of the good whiskey, let alone the kind made in discarded oil barrels, and I’m starting to feel the effects… both of us haven’t had too much booze since we began travelling, so it doesn’t take much.
But we are not getting off that easy as Buon Than ends up giving us two more shots.
Since this stuff is quite literally distilled in someone’s backyard and we can’t ask a bartender to deliver a round on us, as a “thank you” Eric gives him the Canadian key chain off his bag. Buon Than graciously accepts it, wishes us a safe trip and we’re able to slip away.
I stumble my way back to our guesthouse and Eric isn’t far behind me, laughing at my current state. On arrival at the guesthouse, they owner’s kids are trying to saw a huge log with a two-person saw. And wouldn’t you know it, Eric decides to hop in and help them out.
So I leave Eric sawing away on a log and head up to our room, where I pretty much pass out.
It’s been a great day in Luang Nam Tha.!
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