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Published: December 15th 2008
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(Day 254 on the road)So my amazing time in Laos has come to an end. As always, time has been flying and the last five weeks were way too short a time to spend in this great country with its incredibly friendly people. Looking back as I write these lines, Laos doesn't actually have the amazing natural wonders that for instance China has to offer. But its ever-smiling people and the spirit of adventure that exists in this less-visited country in Southeast Asia make more than up for that.
Of course, the fact that we had our own motorbikes with which we drove across the country for three weeks added a lot to the experience. They really allowed us to go to very remote places where no tourist bus ever goes and that would have been impossible to reach without our own transport. And it was hose adventures off the paved roads that left the biggest impression on me. Thinking more practically, I have also gained more experience and confidence in riding a motorbike, putting me more at ease with future driving.
From the Plain of Jars in the north-east of Laos, I took a bus to the UNESCO
listed city of Luang Prabang in the north-west (9 hours for about 200 km, puh). First, I tried to pick up my backpack from the travel agency that I had used to ship it up here from Vientiane. But for some strange reason they had sent it back to Vientiane, so I had to wait until the next day for it to come back up here. What a shame, after more than a week in my (by now very filthy and dusty) biking clothes I was really looking forward to a clean set of trousers and shirts. When the bag finally arrived the next day, I noticed that someone had stolen my wrist-watch and my compass from the bag, great. But there was nothing I could do about that.
After that, I spent a couple of days wandering the streets and sitting by the mystic Mekong, a little perplexed by the number of tourists in the town. Compared to the previous week and a half (where I had seen virtually no tourists at all), this was quite a change. The nicest experience for me was walking the streets and starting to chat to a dining group of westerners. Turns out they had done a cooking class during the day and that they were just eating their day's work. They invited me to have dinner with them, and it really was delicious, accompanied by very a interesting conversations.
The next day, I caught an overnight bus to the Thai border at Houei Xay (another 14 hours for 300 km, more puh). The crossing into Thailand was smooth (short ferry across the Mekong), as was the immigration into Thailand. And before I knew it, I was sitting on a minibus to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Next stop: Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand).
To view my photos, have a look at
pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete
book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).
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