We arrived in Nong Khiaw and found it to be a beautiful mountain town along the Ou river. We found a great hostel called Delilah with our new friend, Sean. We met another new friend, Tock, in the common area of the hostel. After some proper European and American banter back and forth, we all decided to walk up the road and find a cave to explore. Headlights in one hand and waving at locals with the other, we knew we had reached the cave when a painted sign pointed the way into the jungle. A group of 4 children were our guides throughout the journey. They knew enough English to point out what the different rooms in the caves were used for during the American/Vietnam war. It was a bomb shelter at the time, fully equipped with a communication room and hospital.

The next day, we woke up early and made the trek up a nearby mountain to watch the sunrise from a very tall peak. The view was spectacular and fog was rolling over the nearby peaks constantly. We waited around at the top for the fog to dissipate, but had no such luck. Oh well; it was beautiful anyway. Tock stole the phone for a stealthy selfie at one point.

The rest of the day was spent chatting and playing with an adorable hostel kitten. We were throwing a crumpled piece of paper for him and he was attacking it, then growing bored. At one point, he learned if he brought the paper back to Grant, it would get thrown again. Success, we taught him fetch!

The next day, it was time to hop back on a bus and head further north for more trekking in a new city.

Until the next post!