Laos was a destination we included in our trip because we never made it this far when we went to Vietnam and Cambodia a couple of years ago - but it was when we were floating up the Mekong that we had the idea to go travelling and had wanted to continue on to Laos. Unfortunately we had to go back to work then, but we're here now. Other than hearing from loads of folk how lovely Laos was we hadn't done any research so it was a bit of a surprise.
We are pleased to say it was a nice, relaxing surprise. Apparently, Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world but we think it has some of the happiest people. They don't believe that you should work so hard that it causes you stress and they think you should enjoy your life (sentiments perhaps which we in the west could learn from!). It is also a very scenic and rural country with beautiful landscapes - some bits are a mix between the rolling hills of Scotland and the luminous green of "The Shire" (but we didn't see any Hobbits), and others are like Halong Bay in Vietnam, but without the water. However, getting around isn't always easy as the first tarmac roads were only built 10 years ago - and there's still not many, I think 7 in total - and travel sickness tablets are a must!
As it's such a poor country there isn't much to see in terms of history or architecture (and it's been bombed a bit too), so the scenery and the people are the main attractions. For example, one afternoon was spent drinking 'Lao Lao' Whisky with the locals - this was a really good laugh but while they have a lovely naive sense of humour their jokes are rubbish!
Laos also has to be the most laidback place in Asia (think this is perhaps due to their attitude to life), as their capital city Vientiane is pretty much deserted and more like a small town. Anyway, while in Laos 'do as they do' - so we decided to adopt their ways for a while and relaxed as we know how - we splashed out on a fancy hotel (12 pounds per night!), which had a bath and TV - what luxury! It was great to have a bath for the first time in 3 months and we stayed up until 4.30am watching Andy Murray at Wimbledon. But, don't get us wrong we weren't putting our feet up all the time - one day we hired bikes and cycled for 18 miles!
So we're heading back to northern Thailand now, via the Mekong again......the 1st 9 hours by 'slow' boat and the last 4 by 'speed' boat - like in James Bond but not quite so glam!
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