The weather in Laos has been a rude wake up with it being the best of SE Asian heat and humidity so we are both a bit subdued,
Last Friday we left Thailand as our travel permit for Penny was expiring. Thankfully getting out was a lot less troublesome then getting in so it was all done all finished in about 40 mins after the usual round of photos with all the borders staff.
I had a wry smile as the last thing the immigration office said as we were exiting was “Be very careful in Laos as the drivers are crazy over there” this from a man that lives in a country that killed on average 61 people a day on the roads.
The first day was just 4 hour over to Luang Namtha for the night before heading down tp Luang Prabang on the banks of the Mekong River as Luang Namtha was not the place to spend 3 days waiting till we could enter China on the 17th.
The drive down to Luang Prabang proved what the Thai boarder officer had said, some of the driver are truly crazy. It was a fairly tiresome drive between climbing through some spectacular Limestone mountain scenery, the potholes, getting past the most popular form of road transport the scooter and being ever prepared for the oncoming truck of any size to be on your side of the road coming round the corner. The trip was toped off with 20k’ s of road works beside a new Hydro dam being built but the Chinese. Most likely to help provide power for the 400k high speed rail line under construction from Chine to Vientiane
I think the age limit in Laos for driving scooters is if you can hold it up you are old enough to ride. The other thing is scooters have no maximum number of people you can carry with 5 being the best we have seen to date.
Luang Prabang is the former capital of Laos and how a listed world heritage site with many temples and a very touristy old city.
Julie attended a weaving school as this area is famous for it hand weaving. Just on dark the 2 Lao girls that had been looking teaching Julie weaving bought her home in a Tuk Tuk. They then had the experience of their life as I drove them back to the house 6 k’s away in Penny. I don’t think I have ever seen 2 adults so excited in my life before! One could not stop say “On my Buddha” the whole way home and took a thousand pics on the way.
The last day in Laos was the return trip back north towards the border before entering China the next morning. we did how ever discoed that the traffic is a lot quieter on a Monday than Saturday with everyone working.
The French influence is ever present in Laos with Boules being a cooen sport with courts specialy built every where.
Back with more from China in a couple of days
