Hello in Laos is "Sabai dee"

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13-19th Mar
It was so slow. We got a boat up to Muang Ngoi Neua. We had to go over rapids, they were so fun. The whole boat went up and down. We eventually got there and went to see some caves, they were so big. When the U.S.A came over to bomb Vietnam , if they didn't drop some on Vietnam they would drop them on Laos. There were more than 100 people living there. There were still some medicine bottles, food tins and gas lamps there. There was this really sparkly rock, which had lots of crystals in. It was as high as my whole arm. It was so dark we had to use torches. On the way back we went canyoning and tubing, I used the tube. On the first rapid I was really freaked out, luckily it was only small. You had to sit like you were in an armchair. On the second rapid I still was scared but when I did it it was so so fun. You got waves in your face and you kept bobbing up and down. We stopped off at a little village, which didn't have electricity. All the houses were woven, the only really bright thing was the temple. Everyone was really friendly and smiley. Sophie

Today we went on an unsturdy boat up the river to look at a 250m long cave where locals stayed in the war.... At this time the sun was scorching and we were sweating on our way to view point 1. When we got up to it you had an amazing view of the Nam Ou river. They we went to view point 2 and you had a great view of the village. We wandered on and went to a farming village. Jonathan

Change - until recently up stream villages have only been accessible by boat. The Chinese have recently built a road, which will make vehicle access much easier. Along with newly installed mains electricity things are about to change forever for the villages along the Nam Ou.

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Comments

[Christa]

Sabei dee Sophie and Jonathon!
Well I am impressed you are learning the language as well as seeing all the sights! Going down rapids sounds amazing fun and is perhaps a teeny weeny dangerous!? I am glad you all got back in one piece! I was talking to a guy in our international group about you being in Laos - and he had been there as well - so he was talking about the bombing of the country too. It must have been horrendous for the people there. I loved the sunset picture - you must have seen so many sunsets by now. How do you always find hotels to stay in, in these remote areas. There can't be many tourists there hey? Have you met any other British or American people yet? Take care!

[The Elegant Elephant and Mischievous Monkey Tour]

Getting around Laos
There is a defined backpacker route in Laos, which goes from the capital Vientiane in the South right through to the border with China in the north, all the sights we visited are on this route. There is accommodation of various standards from budget to luxury at many locations. We met people from everywhere, and there are many visitors from SE Asian countries. You might need a thicker skin that most as an American visitor though. The infrastructure is improving in remote areas as the Laos and Chinese governments work together on many road and infrastructure projects.

[The Elegant Elephant and Mischievous Monkey Tour]

Teaching in Laos
Teachers earn the most of any professionals in Laos.