Laos, where the clocks are ticking slow

Laos is a country called "forgotten" among the south East Asian neighbors. Having borders with China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia it is nested between very fast developing countries. (maybe except for Myanmar;-))

It seems to us this communistic country does not have such aspirations and the lie here seems remarkably slower compared to Yunnan.

First days of our Laos experience we spent relaxing in Luang Namtha, the biggest city in the northern Laos, meaning maybe 10000 citizens:-) how pleasant after the small-big cities in Yunnan!

 

 
Luang Namtha lays in a very hilly province of Laos, which we soon had to feel. We cycled towards Thai border in Huay Xay to take a boat on the Mekong river. Until we got there we had to climb 2700 meters in between... The views and villages were lovely, but it was very hard cycling, especially the heat and the dust.

 

 Rice paddies

 Untypical "vehicle" on the road:-)

We jumped on the boat to get to Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage town.

The two days boat trip with a stop over in Pak Beng is a unique way to travel. You see the villages, animals, people along the Mekong. Many of the villages still have no electricity.

Luang Prabang is kind of touristy, but not bad because we got fresh coffee and a real baguette:-)
 

 

 

 We were also lucky to be in  Luang Prabang during the Festival of Light, which is a special celebration where villages build bamboo boats to go through the town with them, and later let them go on the Mekong river in the evening.

There are multiple budda temples, and so you can see many monks.

 The city also offers a variety of trips around the town to see the jungle or beautiful waterfalls.

 

 Doro fullfilled her childhood dream and did elephant riding tour!

Now we are setting off towards the capital, Vientiane. Another hilly ride ahead of us.