Xieng Kok is a charming and peaceful little town consisting primarily of wooden houses and bamboo shacks along the Mekong, making a good spot for an overnighter on your way through to the rest of northern Laos. It's a border checkpoint for a ferry boat to and from China, and rocket boats from Huay Xai, with a constant flow of activity ebbing around the boat landing. Huge trucks come to load and unload their merchandise, making for plenty of entertainment, particularly when they need to be winched up from the river banks where they get stuck in the mud. A crowd generally gathers to watch and direct the action.

The streets are also crowded with the town's animal population, including drowsy cows snoozing at intersections. There's not a lot to do in Xieng Kok once you've wandered around town, chatted with the locals and given your advice on the trucks being hauled out of the sludge. But the town is scenically set on the banks of the Mekong, with a view over to Burma.

The most spectacular parts of a visit to Xieng Kok are the journeys to and from. The trip on the Mekong to Huay Xai is very beautiful, as is the road trip via Muang Long to Muang Sing. The road passes small rivers, rice fields, cliffs and a number of small Akha villages. The Akha people are in the majority in the region. Their distinctive black outfits are topped by headdresses decorated with silver coins and medallions.