Please don't rush

Laos is one of poorest South East Asia Country, therefore I thought it would be cheaper than Thailand where I spent my previous month. I was wrong and was quite surprised: Why a bus ride cost almost two to three time the price it does in Thailand? Transportation is not cheap, so is not the rest either: food, accommodation, activities... I kept asking me why. After making some research on internet to find the clue, I found several reasons:

1. Laos was in war until 1990 and got ravaged (WWII, Indochina wars, Rolling thunder, Laotian civil wars)

2. The political system was really unstable until 1986 and didn't help the country to get developed

3. Because of wars and political crises, most people live in a self-sufficient way.

4. It is landlocked between Thailand, China and Vietnam. Most of the goods and ground resources are imported

5. The Asian crisis: The currency (Lao Kip) got devalued from 900 kips to 4200 kips for 1$. Importations become too expensive for this poor country

Tourism becomes an activity than can help people to buy what they need for living and have a more decent life.

Something more actual concerns the Mekong river and all its dam projects along it. With 70 projects, Laos will become the "battery of Asia"

Luang Prabang was my favourite place in North Laos with Nong Kiaw and Muang Ngoi. The street market was amazing and from Nong Kiaw I'm hanging out with a bunch of european (English, Irish, Danish and German). We will stick together until we separate when I decide to cross the Cambodian border.

Unfortunately I have less pictures to share with you than I have memories. I guess I take less pictures when I am happy to socialize and make new real friends. It has been a while since I left my other friends in Chang Mai.

Fun Fact: When I went to Kuang Si waterfalls, I met my brother's doppelganger and I got really shocked!

Sam and I decide to go to Phonsavan while the rest of our group goes to Vang Vieng. Both of us have interest in ancient civilizations and the Plain of Jars is still an unsolved historical episode today (Sam introduced me to Graham Hancock "Quest for a lost civilization").

I also want to learn about the consequences of Indochina wars:

I joined a tour to take notes of the horrors of war and how Lao people's tried to survive it. During the american operation Rolling Thunder, Lao became the most heavily bombed country in the world regarding its size (it fell as many bomb in Laos during this period than it did in Western Europe during WWII). For 9 years, there was an average of an attack every 8 minutes which represent 260.000.000 bombs and anti-personnel mines. Not all of them have been found yet so make sure you stick to the paths in Laos. Bombshells are melted and recycled to produce cutlery for the country.

We later heard about Hmong New Year: It's a festival where teenagers are nicely dressed up and both boys and girls hope to find the person they will spend their life with. Boys face girls in line and they throw a ball to the person who caught their eyes.

After Phonsavan we join back our friends crew (Melanie, Tahmee, Patrick and Lisa) in Thakhek. I still remember the thai green chicken curry I had other there (Thakhek is on the border with Thailand). This town is not exceptional but you may stay longer, rent a motorbike and explore the surroundings. It's exactly what we did for four days:

The Thakhek loop

It felt so nice not depending on a bus timetable during this roadtrip! We had 3 bikes for 6 people and it was both epic and wild! With my application Orux Maps we went quite remote on dirt tracks and found secret spots not shown on the paper map.
Last but not least, we ended up in a wedding ceremony dancing and my friend Sam "almost" hooked up with the oldest grandma wondering if the size of his penis matches his height! I let you discover this adventure.

After this, we all went to Green Climbers Home for rock climbing for a short week before all going to Don Det where I remember I got my pinky toe nail pulled off on a stone as I was walking barefeet (it hurts so much!). I'm already one day late on my 30 days visa, but the stamp on it claims my visa is valid a whole year because of a mistake at the border when I entered to Laos! After being a real pain in the ass with the border officers to avoid a $35 day fee (legally my visa runs for a year) I finally enter into Cambodia.

I'll share my next adventure with Stéphanie, a girl I met in Don Det and who's going to Cambodia too.