From Luang Prabang I headed north to Nong Kiaw and after a 1 hr boat ride ended up in Mang Ngoy - a small, slow paced riverside village where the owners of my bungalow referred to themselves as Mama and Papa ... Mama cooked mean Banana Pancakes for breakfast and would also provide weed if required. Tourism isn't so advanced here so I wasn't surprised when the 16yo guide we'd chose to take us up the overshadowing mountain stopped 3/4 of the way up saying it was as far as he had been ... much to his consternation we pushed on (he seemed overly concerned about losing some of his first customers) - and with his machete and our rope we managed to find, climb and mark the track up and get back safely to mama.
The route to the Sam Neua was only about 300km but would take about 12 hrs and the bus would pick me up sometime between 6pm and 12pm. Local bus rides in Laos are an interesting prospect and an essential experience - crammed with people and goods, everyone sleeps on everyone, the horn is employed almost constantly along the otherwise quiet roads to warn children, water buffalo , oncoming traffic etc., refueling and repairs are a communal experience as the jerrycan is removed from the buses underbelly, and no-one seems at all fussed by the appalling music that they play all through the night .... nothing could be more at odds with the beautiful countryside (or the concept of sleep) - a mix of everything that is bad about elevator music, synthesisers, mike oldfield and top 40 pop with a slight Asian inflection - well i suppose there has to be something not to like about Laos.
I crossed the border to Vietnam after spending a night in Vieng Xai - checking out the caves that became the homes for the Pathet Lao leaders military and thousands of civilians as protection from the CIA bombs.
Unfortunately my phone is now broken - so I cant even provide a crappy Nokia photo!
The route to the Sam Neua was only about 300km but would take about 12 hrs and the bus would pick me up sometime between 6pm and 12pm. Local bus rides in Laos are an interesting prospect and an essential experience - crammed with people and goods, everyone sleeps on everyone, the horn is employed almost constantly along the otherwise quiet roads to warn children, water buffalo , oncoming traffic etc., refueling and repairs are a communal experience as the jerrycan is removed from the buses underbelly, and no-one seems at all fussed by the appalling music that they play all through the night .... nothing could be more at odds with the beautiful countryside (or the concept of sleep) - a mix of everything that is bad about elevator music, synthesisers, mike oldfield and top 40 pop with a slight Asian inflection - well i suppose there has to be something not to like about Laos.
I crossed the border to Vietnam after spending a night in Vieng Xai - checking out the caves that became the homes for the Pathet Lao leaders military and thousands of civilians as protection from the CIA bombs.
Unfortunately my phone is now broken - so I cant even provide a crappy Nokia photo!
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