Day 11 - Vieng Kham to Nahin

Quick facts
Distance	40km (total ride 50km)
Difficulty	Hard
Terrain	Rolling with a very steep climb
Blog	15th Jan - An internet cafe - finally!
Gallery	Vientiane to Lak Xao

The journey

The road was rolling and winding for 10km followed by a small ascent and descent into a plain. There were food and drink stalls at Khoun Ngeun. The ascent to Nahin (also known as Khoum Khan) started shallow then became very steep for about 7km to the viewpoint, after which it was mainly downhill. We flagged down an ETL truck for the final climb after it became too steep for us to pedal. They refused to take any money and gave us a souvenir calendar. The limestone scenery is amazing. It was very windy, mostly from the east. The road was good but the markers on route 8 were blank from the first village onwards.

There are 4 guesthouses in Nahin: SP (near DK restaurant), one opposite the market next to the Sala Hinboun office, Xok Xai and a new, half-built one signed as European and Lao restaurant and lounge. This last guesthouse had the only hot water in town, after 3pm, but wasn't serving food because the English owner was away and they didn't have a chef. DK restaurant and To restaurant (in the market) had English menus; To restaurant had generous portions and a friendly owner whose son speaks very good English and wanted to play football.

We walked to Nam Sanam waterfall. The path is 3km each way - follow the sign opposite the market. It starts off easy then gets smaller and harder to follow until finally we were scrambling over boulders. It's easy to lose the way, although there are some very basic signs and markers along the way, like cuts made in branches.

The room

Xok Xai
K60,000 for double room in main building, bathroom with cold water, fan, mosquito net.
Nice wooden building and good furnishings. Restaurant on site; we ordered our evening meal in the afternoon so the owner could get the food from the market. The breakfast baguette is a small freshly baked loaf big enough for two people.