Laos

I cannot think of anything witty or insightful to say about Laos. I am still in shock at the vast differences between it and Vietnam. Immediately upon crossing the border, everything feels different. The pace of life is slower, people seem happier, and best of all, there is no incessent horn honking. It is a much needed relief for the senses.

We were up very early the other morning to catch our truck to cross into Laos. The truck driver dropped us and our bikes off on the Vietnamese side of the border, a 35km climb up to the top of a mountain pass. It was without a doubt the best decision we made. The road is heavily used by construction trucks and trucks carrying rocks from the quarry. Navigating the trucks and a long uphill would have been less than ideal. Okay, it would have sucked. We crossed into Laos without much excitment, and immediately the terrain changed. The road was dirt, sometimes loose dust, for an entire 70 km of climbing and descending. We arrived to our first town, Muang Khoa, completely covered in red/brown dust. Laos has a significantly smaller population (8 M vs 85 M) so we see far fewer people and towns, and often went an hour or more without being pased by a scooter or truck (such a treat). My favourite moment on our first day in Laos was stopping for a break on a rather large hill, finding some shelter to hang out under, and was greeted by two boys on their way to go fishing. We shared some cookies and they showed me how to work their fishing spears.

While in Muang Khoa, we ran into some other bikers who are from, of all places, Vancouver, and went out for dinner with them to exchange knowledge. They told us of some hot springs we will bike by, so we'll be sure to check those out. The road from here is also paved the entire way, so it sounds like our 'adventure' portion of the trip is done. Civilived pavement from here on out.

Yesterday we took a boat along with some other tourists and locals down the Nam Ou river to the next town, Nong Khiaw. The ride is quite cramped, and seats consist of planks of wood, but it was a lot of fun and gives you lots of time to bond with everyone (5 hours to be exact). It's fairly touristy, but the peace, quiet, and simplicity of life more than make up for the fact every restaurant is comprised almost entirely of westerners. Oh yes, and the food is utterly outstanding. We are staying in a bamboo hut, complete with a squat toilet and a tap for a shower. Very primitive but it turns out you don't need much to live here. Just a book, a hammoc, and some free time.