The boat tour on Nam Ngumlake with comes with fishing, swimming, and visits to fishing villages. The main season is from October to February. Night fishing occurs during the rainy season, which is from June to September.
Day 1
Looking for a unique way to see the beauty of Laos? Then look no further than our boat tour on Nam Ngumlake. This tour takes you through some of the most stunning parts of Vang Vieng, and features fishing, swimming, and visits to fishing villages. You’ll also get to spend some time watching the sunset as you set up a kerosene lamp in one of the river’s islands—a great way to end your day!
The trip begins at 9 AM from guest houses or hotels in Vang Vieng or Vientiane. The boat takes you to the first stop, which is an island where fishermen live. Here you’ll have a chance to explore and observe how the Lao fishermen work. These fhisermen often use small boats to fish for small fish, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood that can be sold at local markets or restaurants.
Lao fishermen use a traditional fishing technique that is not used by any other ethnic group in Laos. The technique is called pwo, which means “to fish with a net”. This technique is usually used for fishing at night or during the evening hours.
After that, you’ll start fishing from the boat by yourself—we think that you’ll catch many smaller fish and with a bit of luck bigger fish (up to 10 kg); these are very sporting fish, so put up a good fight! You can also observe spectacular mountain scenery here as well.
After lunch, we’ll continue fishing or go swimming if you wish—either way, it’s going to be an adventure! From here we will go to another island where we can watch the sunset before night falls
Day 2
After breakfast today, we’ll head out on our covered boat trip. We’ll travel to an island that has a fishing village, where we’ll enjoy genuine Laos cuisine cooked by a friendly local fisherman. The meal will include locally caught fresh fish and locally made rice wine again drunk through a bamboo straw. Here you will have a chance to explore and observe how the Lao fishermen live and work.
There will be further opportunities for swimming or fishing in the afternoon.
After that, the boat will take us to another spectacular mountain view—this time with more amazing scenery! After a 40-minute boat ride, we’ll arrive at Tha Haue fish market.
The Haue Fish Market is located in the city of Naha and is a popular tourist destination. The market is open every day, but it has a different atmosphere depending on the day of the week. On Sundays, the market is bustling with activity as people come to buy fresh fish and seafood for their family dinners.
On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the market is quieter as people come to purchase fish for restaurants or businesses they work at. Fridays are also quieter than Sundays because it’s more difficult to get fresh fish delivered from Japan on time for Friday’s dinner parties and celebrations.
The busiest time of year at the Haue Fish Market is during New Year’s Eve, when everyone comes to buy their New Year’s Eve dinner ingredients!
Here we’ll see the preparation of both salted fish and raw fish, with herbs “sushi style”.
This ends our activities and then we make the 24 km. return trip back to Vang Vieng by car or minibus arriving about 5:30 p.m., thanks to our helpful driver/guide who has been waiting for us along with his eager students from Tham Khao School of Tourism Management!