Our last stop in Laos was the town of Luang Namtha, about a 9 hour sleeper bus ride from Luang Prabang.  At 2:30am, we were dropped off 9 miles outside of town on a very quiet road. Only 5 passengers in total (including us) got off at this stop as the rest of the bus was heading to other areas in Northern Laos. Fortunately, after only 10 minutes of waiting on the side of the road, a songthaew driver (a converted passenger pick-up truck) happended to pass by and took us the rest of the way to Luang Namtha, and to a hotel with a 24 hour Front Desk.

After a great night of sleep, we visited the Front Desk the next morning to get some information about Luang Namtha. The very friendly and outgoing employee at the desk, Phonekeo, explained he was attending a business college just the down the road, and was excited about pursuing a career in Finance.  He was also not shy about urging us to teach at his class later that night.

 

After finishing our time in the classroom, we took a sunset stroll to nearby Wat Samakyxay, a Buddhist temple located at the top of a hill overlooking Luang Namtha. We enjoyed some great views of the town, and got caught in a heavy thunderstorm that really came out of nowhere (we took refuge under an awning outside of the monks’ sleeping quarters). We finished the night with a trip to the Night Market, and a dinner of fried rice and deep fried frog.