Muang Khua

Muang Khua is a small town in Phongsali Province of northern Laos. Most people use it as a transit town (the halfway point between several other places), but it has its own charm.

Get in
Muang Khua can be reached from four directions: the Nam Ou river crosses through it from north to south, while the roads head east and west.

By road
To the west, lies the transit hub of Muang Xay. In the east, the road connects Muang Khua to the northernmost border crossing with Vietnam, near the Vietnamese city of Dien Bien Phu. Buses leave daily from Dien Bien Phu's bus station early in the morning. Travel time is around 5 hours, including customs.

Buses from Muang Xay stop 2 km away on the west side (35,000 kip for the bus and 5,000 kip for a collective tuk-tuk to the town centre).

By boat
Muang Khua is about halfway between Phongsali in the north and the backpacker-popular village of Muang Ngoi Neua, with connections further south to Luang Prabang.

Tickets can be bought from the boat dock, half an hour before the boat leaves. From the visitors centre, with the market in front of you, turn left and take the first street right. It is at the end of this road (you will have walked past three guesthouses and be on a downward slope). The boat to Muang Ngoi Neua and Nong Khiaw leaves at 09:30. Tickets to Muang Ngoi Neua (written Muang Ngoy on the boat dock sign) are 100,000 kip. Tickets to Nong Khiaw (an hour south of Muang Ngoy) are 120,000 kip. Boats may not leave if there are not enough people (~12 people per boat) (Oct 2013) unless they are chartered. Do not expect the boats to operate more often than once in a few days.

Due to the Ou River 3 Hydro Power Station you have to change the boats and go with a songthaew around the dam/power plant. The songthaew transfer is included in the ticket price (Jun. 2018)

Get around
Muang Khua can be covered by foot.

See

 * The old suspension bridge, where you can watch the river and often fishermen

Buy

 * There are two ATMs in town. The tourist centre said this was new. (Nov 2013). It is possible to change dollars and baht. There are two places in town that change money at reasonable rates (Jun 2012). The banks may close at 15:30 and not be open on weekends.
 * The market is opposite tourist info in a curved roof shed. There are stalls with toiletries, clothes and food.

Eat


There are three restaurants on the road to the boat ramp. Drinks, 7-15,000 kip, Meals, 25–35,000 kip.



Across from lao development bank out the front of a restaurant sticky rice is sold for 10,000k a kilo, locals will be impressed by this purchase.

Sleep

 * There are a few guesthouses on the road to the boat ramp. The tourist office also has a map of the area with others.

Connect

 * Wi-Fi not available at most guesthouses, but computers are available
 * Chalernsouk Guesthouse offers kiosk computers with internet for 10,000 kip an hour
 * As of Feb 2024, there are a lot of mobile providers, where you could get a sim card and wifi, on restaurants

Go next

 * Muang Ngoi Neua by boat, 5 hours, 100,000 kip. Boat leaves at 9:30am most days but you should arrive 30 minutes before to buy your ticket. Fantastic trip worth doing just for the scenery. Operators will often try to charge 200,000 if the boat is only half full even if they are already going, since they have a monopoly on the route. Many backpackers end up waiting a day in town for prices to fall
 * Muang Xay
 * Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam the local bus is leaving around 7am, tickets on the bus station