On the last day of a trip my travel buddy and I always reflect on our highlights. For our adventures around Laos and Vietnam we were unanimous. Our Laos homestay was the standout experience. Here’s what made it so special.
A wonderful host
Like many travel experiences it’s the people that make it memorable. During our Laos homestay, we met many lovely locals but Kham is the person who made it so special. She created her company Homestay Laos to give adventurous travellers a real taste of Laotian life. Along the way she created jobs for her family and for others in her home village, Muang Soune. She’s clearly an inspiration for other Laotian people and we loved spending time with her and learning about local life and culture.
Shopping like a local
Kham collected us from our hotel in Luang Prabang and introduced us to her mother, who was joining our trip to visit with her sister and daughter. Kham and her parents moved to Luang Prabang when she was a teenager, but most of the family still live in Muang Soune, around 65km to the north. On route, we stopped at a local market outside of town to shop for the food we would eat during our stay. We had no idea there were so many varieties of rice in Laos which were beautifully displayed. And all the food Kham bought couldn’t have been fresher. The fish was still alive when we chose it and we watched while the stallholder killed and cleaned it. Well I did, my friend was too squeamish even though she was happy to eat it later!
Arriving by boat
Kham’s website mentioned we’d go on a small fishing boat and I’d envisaged we would be crossing from one side of the Nam Ou river to the other. But we soon learned that Muang Soune isn’t accessible by road. So the last 20 minutes of the journey was by boat. To be honest we were pretty pleased to get off the road. It was tarmacked but full of massive potholes that Kham had to navigate around. She explained it’s because the trucks transporting goods north to China are too heavy. Anyone who lives in the UK knows what rain does to small cracks in the road, so you can imagine what the rainy season does to the roads in Laos. But the boat trip was sublime and the perfect way to arrive at our Laos homestay.
A gorgeous riverside setting
The location of our Laos homestay couldn’t have been better. Kham built it on land owned by her father and it’s right on the river with its own landing dock. The first building she created has a kitchen with an open counter and covered seating area. Upstairs are bedrooms that were originally used for guests. But in October 2024 Kham finished a separate traditional Laotian house in the grounds where we slept. We were the only guests that night so had our pick of the rooms. We chose a twin each on the upstairs level with a lovely balcony and river view. Once settled we had our first lunch with the family. No one speaks much English apart from Kham but it didn’t matter. They were all so welcoming and the food was delicious, especially the fish!
Exploring the local area
After lunch, we meandered down the tree-lined walkway that leads to the Laos homestay and past a few pig and chicken pens to reach the village. We were now in the care of local guide Mr Vong Say. He’s the only English speaker in the village so works for Kham guiding her guests around Muang Soune. He was happy to be called Say, pronounced Si in English. First, we called round to a local home where preparations were underway for a blessing ceremony the next morning. Women from the village had gathered to help the owners make food for breakfast after the ceremony. They urged us to join in so we tried our hand at creating sticky rice parcels with banana leaves. It’s definitely a sticky business!
As we headed back to the road we came across the Tuk Tuk Express. This is actually a tractor pulling a cart which takes people to the surrounding villages. The furthest is 18km away and Say told us it would take three hours to get there. A long bumpy ride, but not too surprising when you see what the roads are like!
Then we veered off onto a dusty wooded trail to the local rice paddies. They were dry as it wasn’t the time of year for harvesting, but some of the villagers grow vegetables in the off-season. We also came across a few buffalo before being collected by Kham’s Uncle Keak in his very own Tuk Tuk Express. Uncle’s primary job in Kham’s enterprise is as driver of both the tractor and the boat.
Checking the fishing nets
Back at our lovely Laos homestay we relaxed in the garden before heading out on the boat with Uncle and Say to check the latter’s fishing nets. It’s something he does twice a day and it’s a pretty slow process. But a very relaxing one so I can see the appeal. We definitely lived a slower-paced life than normal in Muang Soune. After a while, there was great excitement when Say realised he had a catch. He brought it up to find it was a very small catfish. We were glad Kham hadn’t relied on the nets for our dinner!
Cooking with Kham and Ngern
We could have put our feet up at this point but Kham offered the option to get involved with cooking dinner, which we were very happy to do. Cooking meals at the Laos homestay is mainly the domain of Kham’s aunt Lar and her sister Ngern. We found it quite entertaining that Kham always referred to Ngern as ‘my older sister’. I’m not sure that distinction would go down so well in our culture! Our job was making fresh spring rolls and a peanut dipping sauce. The latter involved a lot of satisfying pounding of ingredients! The fresh spring rolls needed a firm rolling technique that I think we mastered. Meanwhile, Kham and her sister were preparing other dishes including ingredients such as fresh lettuce and spring onions picked straight from the kitchen garden.
The end result was another delicious meal that we shared with the family before heading off for an early night. The quiet was only disturbed by frogs in the pond until we suddenly heard booming music. It turned out the villagers were having a pre-blessing ceremony party! It didn’t actually bother us too much though and we still slept very soundly in our traditional Laos homestay bedrooms.
Blessing ceremony and breakfast
We’d been expecting to take part in the almsgiving at the village temple. But the owners of the house being blessed had invited the resident monks to receive alms in their home as part of the ceremony. They were happy for us to join them and after giving alms we sat and listened to the monk’s blessing. There was just one monk living at the village temple with three novices. They were from the village as all of the boys in Muang Soune have the option to become monks but it’s not mandatory. After the blessing, we were invited to stay for breakfast which we did before heading back for a cup of tea and a walk around the homestay garden and fish pond. All while keeping a close eye on Kham’s lovely little nephew who patrolled the pond with his stick!
Learning about village life
Our next expedition with Say was a walk around the village. Muang Soune is bigger than it used to be as the creation of a dam on the river led to the merger with another village. We went to the temple where the monk and volunteers were busy with straw, creating a centrepiece for an upcoming celebration. The main temple building is lovely with some colourful murals.
Walking through the village we saw that many of the houses are now concrete rather than the traditional wooden home that we were staying in. The locals prefer them now but we thought they must be quite dark as they often didn’t have windows. Or if they did there was no glass. We also spotted a local guy checking his fishing nets and came across a wedding and a cheeky young boy who was very keen to have his photo taken!
Then we visited the local health centre which employs four nurses and has a visit from a doctor once a month. It has a birthing room and a large chart that records the number of people in each of the surrounding villages as the centre covers all 10 villages. The chart also details the number of women in each village and how many children are in each age bracket. It was all a fascinating insight into life in a Laos village.
Cruising the creek
Back at the homestay we had the option to go fishing, but it had been a busy morning so we chose a relaxed boat trip with Say and Uncle. It meant we got a good look at the local car ferries, which are essentially wooden boats with a flatbed where a car can drive on. People who own cars and motorbikes use them to go to the village where we’d parked and then drive on into Luang Prabang. We also cruised up a creek that branches off the river and where we saw more vegetable gardens. But then the creek ran dry and we had to do a multiple-point turn in the boat to get back!
Farewell lunch
After our adventures on the boat, it was time for one last lunch which included some excellent deep-fried river weed that we’d watched Ngern cooking earlier. Laos is landlocked so there’s no coast but the rivers provide plenty of food. Then everyone gathered for a family photo with us which was the perfect way to end our stay.
As I said at the start, this Laos homestay was the standout highlight of our trip and I’d highly recommend booking the Muang Soune experience with Kham’s company Homestay Laos. It’s a perfect side trip from Luang Prabang and as the accommodation there was cheap we kept our hotel room and just took a small rucksack to the homestay. But you could easily store it. Or you could stop off at the homestay en route from the north of Laos. Kham’s next guests were doing that so we said our farewells to her when we got off the boat. Then her brother-in-law Seechan drove us back to Luang Prabang to reflect on our fabulous stay while watching a sunset over the country’s more famous river, the Mekong.
For more posts about my trip to Laos and Vietnam check the Asia section of my blog.