Northern Laos

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Since Chiang Mai I went to Chiang Kong & crossed the border in Laos & became a millionnaire in KIP. Laos is a beautiful country & very laid back. Our first stop was Luang Namtha, where I convinced an Aussie guy to hop off the bus with me & do some trekking so we spent 2 days in the jungle. Our guide introduced us to native plants & we ate off of banana leaves. The food was amazing with lots of sticky rice & stews. We stayed in a bamboo hut in the jungle & sat around a fire in the evening.

I hopped back on the bus on Christmas & drove 7 hours to Nong Khiaw, which is a beautiful village but gets very cold at night. Some of the group played bouls with the locals & we tasted Lao Lao, which is the local rice whisky & is potent stuff. In the morning we wrapped up warm & sailed down the river in open motor boats, stopping at the buddha cave before reaching Luang Prabang in time to meet up with my old group & watch them play football.

I hopped back on the bus yesterday & went to Vang Vieng, which is a beautiful village but is known for its tubing so people party on the river & tourists get quite drunk. A good fun event but not one to be repeated that often. From there we travelled today to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which is really busy compared to the places I have bveen recently so quite strange to be in a built up area. Tomorrow I head south into the more remote areas of Laos.

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