...along the way
..we met the locals. They awaited the 'tourist' boats with delicacies, which were presented to us through the window panes. Of course us tourists saw these opportunities as picture perfect Kodak moments, but some locals on the boat were tempted into buying the smoked fish and live lizards. For the rest of the journey 'fine aromas' were emitted from a nearby lady's fingers, who'd been busy pulling off bits of fish and sticky rice from a folded up banana leaf and stuffing them into her mouth with her fingers, unabashed, while half a dozen of us watched in amazement.
Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathe... ... read more 
