Deer Park

Luang Prabang is a very interesting place from a travellers point of view. It’s beautifully situated, two rivers concentrate most of the historic interest in a walkable area, and it’s a full-blown, comfortable tourist destination. Although there are plenty of backpackers, the majority have either flown in or are on a tour. I can’t think of many places I’ve been where walking the streets it seems the majority aren’t locals. Sounds terrible? Somehow it isn’t. The funny thing is we’d recommend it. One part of it is the dominating and very impressive presence of the Mekong. Which here is pronounced May-kong. Mostly, from a traveller’s p.o.v. looking for an exotic location that’s stress-free, this is it. The food, markets, sights, walks, and explorations out of town are all great. Good for your Mom. So there’s our pitch. Just don’t come in rainy season.

Tourist dollars are very important, 12% of the economy, and Luang Prabang is where most of them are spent.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world and one of only a handful that remain communist. The remaining group: North Korea, Cuba, China, Vietnam, Laos.

Oudomxay to Luang Prabang

Arghh, road construction a lot of the way

Breaking rocks with sledgehammers, argh for him

Collecting sand for the concrete from the river

The villages are usually linear following the road

Ready for pavement, pressed up against the old village

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Deers’s head, deer parts and a squirrel. Daryl from TWD would approve, this is what he usually appears with

Birds, sadly beautiful

A leopard cat. A little big bigger than a domestic cat. Not endangered

Uh oh, storm ahead

But they seem to disappear as fast as they come, so no worries, just a short shower

Check this out. A fancy lunch restaurant, best we’ve seen yet

Higher hills now

Unbeatable

Birds check out Lucinda, as piglets like to do

Turkeys?

One of the many upcoming stunning views

To the Mekong

And a bit further down

A Mekong market

Because it’s mostly fish

And pig parts

Fried bananas. Yum

And we roll into Luang Prabang across this bikes only bridge, one of many

Here’s a nice lo-tech map of Laos if you can’t mentally place it, lol. We’re entering at the top left, riding in a zig-zag line south through it to Cambodia. The Mekong (we followed it in China) makes up part of its border with Thailand

On that subject we found this map showing the Mekong’s massive drainage. All of Laos for example

Day 1, across the border from Chiang Khong to Luang Namtha

We had day-one dirt route plotted into the GPS hoping for a fast border crossing, but that was not to be. We flew through the Thai exit and got our escort across the Friendship bridge to Laos then hit a non-moving queue at the immigration window, same as last time. A bus had beaten us here, oh well

So the back-up route direst to Luang Namtha

Many small villages

This one had had electricity recently installed, the meters and wiring were new

Some homes, usually occupied by the elderly, looking close to collapse

Bad weather ahead, but sooo green. It’s a hothouse…

A Buddhist shrine by the road

Most of the elements here are roosters. I’m still wrestling with the meaning of ten rooster. In Tibetan Buddhism it represents greed, one of the three poisons. Then there’s because King Naresuan made a famous cock fighting wager with the King of Burma. All kinds of stories but nothing solid yet. One of many things to be sorted out

The first glimpse of the limestone crags that dominate Thailand and Laos

Dry season. Next rains sufficient for rice are maybe May/June

This is something Laos is famous for: Bamboo bridges. Fantastic, will expand on this in the next post.

This one is maybe Lucinda-able, but didn’t risk it. About 30 inches wide and wobbly. But watched a scooter do it with aplomb

Day trip to Muang Sing

Homework time. Like Thailand, it sounds like it’s all about the ‘aa’ sound, the rest often just wraps around it. Or more likely I have it all wrong, Spanish was so much easier

The ride north from Namtha is all about the forest. This is a national park

Bamboo, found wood and thatched villages

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Up here the biggest road hazard is pigs. Further south, cows. Pigs move quite quickly and predictably on the road. Cows are slow but slightly less predictable. They often decide they want to walk with a different cow and make a direction change. Further south, additional hazards

Street market. We’re off the main routes up here, close to the China border, and they’re very shy

Mostly root vegetables

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I buy a bag of something from the kids, pay, then hand the bag back with a smile

Then into this remote village, and ride back to Namtha

I’ve been shooting video for the first time in a year. Movies coming up soon

Luang Namtha to Oudomxay

A great ride but lousy roads

Check out these next two pics. Remarkably similar we thought

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A typical riverside village. The water here is very clean and silt free

Kids are fishing with old masks and spears. We watch for a while but don’t see nay success, so I guess it requires timing and patience

A slightly more developed village. You can tell because of the metal roofs

Here’s the fabulous road. Twisties and green endlessly

The other direction

A tiny ground covering everywhere in bloom

It’s mostly like this here. It’ll change dramatically further south

Into Oudomxay, a biggish town

Looks quiet here but it’s mostly a busy place

Unusual tuk tuks. Quite well built and roomy

Oranges

Bigger picture thoughts and stuff coming up