Nam Ou River Lodge
Serene riverside
More on Nong Kiaow
Nam Ou River Lodge is a solid little place built in 2012, located on a quieter section of the Nam Ou river banks almost equidistant between the bus station and the boat landing. The location is handy, the river serene and the rooms are good value, meaning that it is often full.
Travelfish says:
The guesthouse has eight rooms. Six are in the two-storey building block, which has a communal balcony, while two are part of the main house. Despite the age of the building, the rooms still look fairly fresh, with white walls, shiny tile floor, windows and “no smoking” signs, and the one we inspected had one of the newest looking bathrooms in a town where there’s an epidemic of mildewed bathroom tiles. Overall, it’s a relatively well thought out room, with a desk and plug, a bedside plug and light, fan, mosquito net and WiFi. It’s all presented in a tidy fashion.
The three rooms on the upper floor (Room 4, 5, 6) have the best view, while the two rooms that are part of the house (Room 7, 8) are closest to the river since they jut out and have a balcony. Of course, this being Nong Kiaow, it’s usually first come first serve regardless of efforts to reserve ahead of time.
Don’t despair if you are in one of the ground floor rooms. There’s an enormous communal terrace with some picnic tables and benches that get you as close to the water as possible without actually going in it.
It is a bit of a hike (800 m) to reach the bridge where all the restaurants are. The streets in Nong Kiaow are not lit so anticipate a walk in the dark returning from dinner. Also, no one spoke English when we visited, so we spoke Lao but no one was interested in getting up to show us a room, so communication and service may be an issue.
The family who own Nam Ou River Lodge also own Nong Kiau Adventures tour company (not to be confused with NK Adventures). For any assistance, you may need to contact Mr Mang, who speaks English, at their tour office located at the end of the bridge on the same side of the river. Guests shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a sales pitch on some tours.
Contact details for Nam Ou River Lodge
Address: Ban Nong Kiaow, on Nam Ou River, behind secondary school, 900 m from bus station
T: (020) 5537 9661;
Email: mangkvj@yahoo.com
Coordinates (for GPS): 102º36'32.49" E, 20º34'7.1" N
See position in Apple or Google Maps: Apple Maps | Google Maps
Room rates: Under US$10
Room rates
What we were quoted as a walk-in.
| Dbl fan private bathroom | 100,000 kip | 100,000 kip |
Reviewed by
Cindy Fan
Cindy Fan is a Canadian writer/photographer and author of So Many Miles, a website that chronicles the love of adventure, food and culture. After falling in love with sticky rice and Mekong sunsets, in 2011 she uprooted her life in Toronto to live la vida Laos. She’s travelled to over 40 countries and harbours a deep affection for Africa and Southeast Asia. In between jaunts around the world, she calls Laos and Vietnam home where you'll find her traipsing through rice paddies, standing beside broken-down buses and in villages laughing with the locals.