Ban Ngay Neua: Valley, Rice Fields and Tai Lue Temple

Ban Ngay Neua lies in a valley with partly terraced rice fields. A Tai Lue temple in the village north of Boun-Neua can be seen from the road. A valley landscape and a specific building thus stand side by side as distinct features of the area.

A Townscape Between River and Village Life

A historical travel account describes a concrete bridge over the Nam Ngay, a tributary of the Nam Ou, in Ban Ngay Neua. The river’s name and its relationship to the Nam Ou provide another specific geographical reference for the townscape.

A travel account also describes a market held every fourteen days, where villagers came to buy and sell. This is a historical glimpse of trade in the village, not a statement about a current market day.

Phongsaly as the Wider Travel Destination

The wider travel destination of Phongsaly shifts the focus to the province: it borders Yunnan in China and Dien Bien in Vietnam. Most of the province lies at high altitude and has a pleasant, refreshing climate. The forests of Phongsaly are home to a wide variety of animals, birds, insects and plants. This is a different scale from the valley landscape of Ban Ngay Neua and helps distinguish the local character of the area from its regional setting.

Twenty-eight ethnic groups live in Phongsaly Province, including Khmu, Phounoy, various Akha groups, Tai Lue and Hor. Each has its own cultures, traditions, clothing and languages. The Museum of Ethnic Groups in Phongsaly Province displays various local textiles, artefacts and handicrafts. Phongsaly Town, the provincial capital, has an old quarter with preserved wooden architecture in the Yunnan style.

Phongsaly’s cuisine also brings together regional influences: it includes Lao and Yunnanese dishes with wild ingredients from the forest, such as aromatic herbs and bamboo and rattan shoots. The local rice spirit Lao Lao gets its green colour when it is run over freshly picked raspberry leaves during the final stage of distillation.

Green tea from Phongsaly is picked by women of the Phounoy minority from tea trees described as being up to 400 years old. Tea leaves from Phongsaly are also pressed into bamboo cylinders and sold in cigar-shaped tubes. This tea tradition offers another facet of the region’s culture.

Different Timeframes for Activities

In the wider travel destination of Phongsaly, two very different timeframes can be compared. A 45-minute climb up Phou Fa Mountain leads to its stupa and offers views of Phongsaly Town and the distant mountains. The Nam Lan Trek takes five hours on foot to reach the Akha village of Chakkham Daeng in the mountains and offers a view of the Lao border with Yunnan in China. For planning your day, this comparison makes the difference between a single climb and a considerably longer walk clear.

When looking for a holiday rental, it is helpful to first decide on the type of trip you want: should Ban Ngay Neua itself be the focus, or Phongsaly as the wider travel destination?

Discover more destinations: Ban Hom, Phôngsali.

Back to the wider travel overview: Phongsaly.