February – March 2026

Villa Park to the
Nam Ou & On On

Chris & Harry. Two packrafts, five countries, 87 km of river, and a Hash trail to finish it off.

In February 2026, Chris and Harry left Birmingham with two Itiwit packrafts, a vague plan, and a one-way ticket to Hanoi. The idea was simple: get to northern Laos and paddle the Nam Ou, a river that doesn’t appear in guidebooks and where, as far as they could tell, nobody had packrafted before.

The route took them overland from Dien Bien Phu — the valley where France lost Indochina in 1954 — across the Vietnamese border into Phongsaly Province, and onto the water at Muang Khua. Over three days they paddled 87 kilometres downstream through villages with no guesthouses, no menus, no wifi. They slept in a schoolteacher’s house. They drank lao-lao rice whisky for breakfast. They played pétanque with children who followed them like ducklings.

After the river, the trip kept going: Muang Ngoi, Nong Khiaw, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane. Then the overnight train to Bangkok, a flight to Kaohsiung, a few days in Hong Kong, and a final stop in Beijing before flying home. The following weekend, Chris and Harry set a Hash trail with C2H3 from the Aviator at Gloucestershire Airport. Harry and Dave ran the runners through the mud; Chris and Tofty laid the shortcutters’ trail. On On.

What follows is the trip in 14 chapters and 447 photographs.

Getting There

Villa Park → Gatwick → Shanghai → Hanoi

England & China • Feb 1–2 • Transit

Aston Villa vs Everton at Villa Park. The red-eye to Shanghai Pudong. The connection to Hanoi. Coming soon.

Vietnam

01 — Dien Bien Phu: Where Two Wars Began

Feb 3–6 • 4 days • 10 photos

The valley where France lost Indochina. War graves, the 360° panoramic painting, the victory monument, and a night market doner kebab with Vietnamese salad.

Laos — The River

02 — Muang Khua: The Launch Point

Feb 7–8 • 2 days • 76 photos

A 33-person bus from Dien Bien, the Tay Trang border, a spontaneous party with locals drinking lao-lao, and the first test of the packrafts on the Nam Ou.

03 — Day 1: Villages & Petanque

Feb 9 • 11 km • 49 photos

The first paddle. Ban Haddean — a village not on most maps. A bed in the schoolteacher’s house, Beer Lao, and boules by the river.

04 — Day 2: Breakfast Shots & the Abandoned Settlement

Feb 10 • 20 km • 48 photos

Eggs, veg, chili salt — and shots of lao-lao for breakfast. Twenty kilometres to an abandoned settlement where only the oxen remain.

05 — Day 3: Rapids, Dams & 87 Kilometres

Feb 11 • 38 km • 33 photos

The longest day. A broken jetty, the first dam portage, grade 1 rapids, and 38 km to Muang Ngoi. Total: 87 km on the Nam Ou.

Laos — After the River

06 — Muang Ngoi: The Island That Time Forgot

Feb 12–13 • 2 days • 20 photos

No road until 2013. Angee’s BBQ, the Pha Boom viewpoint, bamboo bridges, and 270 million unexploded bombs from the Secret War.

07 — Nong Khiaw: Pha Kew Lom

Feb 14–15 • 2 days • 27 photos

600 metres — 90% the elevation of Snowdon. Karst peaks in every direction. Kids selling Beer Lao on the way down.

08 — Luang Prabang: Big Brother Mouse

Feb 16–17 • 2 days • 7 photos

Mekong sunsets, the best tam mak hoong of the trip, and volunteering at Big Brother Mouse practising English with Lao students.

09 — Vang Vieng: Packrafts vs Tipsy Tubers

Feb 18–20 • 3 days • 75 photos

Back on the Nam Song alongside the tipsy tubers. Hot air balloons at sunset, the pub crawl, Nam Xay summit, and Gary’s dive bar.

10 — Vientiane: COPE, Stupa & Goodbye Laos

Feb 21–24 • 4 days • 44 photos

The COPE centre — 270 million cluster bombs, 80 million still in the ground. Pha That Luang. Raw laab. Seven goodbye photos.

The Way Home

11 — Bangkok: Train Markets & Canal Walks

Feb 25–26 • 2 days • 6 photos

The overnight sleeper from Vientiane. Banyan trees eating houses. Water monitors in the khlongs.

12 — Kaohsiung: Hash, Cijin & Lanterns

Feb 27 – Mar 2 • 4 days • 2 photos

Reuniting with the Kaohsiung Hash community. Cijin Island at sunset, lantern festival fireworks, the 100 restaurant.

13 — Hong Kong: Chungking to Victoria Peak

Mar 3–5 • 3 days • 40 photos

Chungking Mansions at 3am. Man Mo Temple incense coils. Michelin-starred roast goose. The skyline from 552 metres at night.

14 — Beijing & Home: Full Circle

Mar 6–8 • 3 days • 10 photos

The Forbidden City. Meat patties in the cold. A woman in a rented Qing dynasty dress by the moat. Home via Heathrow.

15 — Churchdown: On On

The following weekend • Gloucestershire

Harry — Wee Little Boy — and Dave set and ran the runners. Chris — Big Daddy — and Tofty — Brains — laid the shortcutters’ trail. The Aviator at Gloucestershire Airport. Mud, beer, down-downs, and a circle on the apron. On On.