Laos

We flew from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang to explore our fifth and last country of this trip around South East Asia.

Laos (pronounced Lao) is a country covered to 70% of mountains. It is also the most bombed country in the world without really being involved in any wars.

During the Vietnam war, bombs that for different reasons wasn’t released from the loaded aircrafts meant for targets in Vietnam or Cambodia got dropped over Laos to secure a the landing of the plane back at base. How horrible is that?!

Still today people get injured and even killed from the bombs that never exploded when they were dumped. And they are everywhere. So very sad.

Apart from this Laos is a beautiful country with breathtaking views wherever you go.

For Christmas Eve me and S rented bicycles and road around town of Luang Prabang and visited some surrounding villages. This after getting up in the crack of dawn to watch the monks collect their aims. 

A lovely day.

An eight hour drive in the mountains we had travelled the 186km to get to Vang Vieng. A small little cute town surrounded by limestone karsts. 

We took a short boat trip on the river. Stunning scenery!

In the afternoon we travelled by local transport- tuk tuk to the Blue Lagoon where you could have a swim in the natural pools. Further on we walked through two villages, one Hmong and one Khmu, (two different mountain tribes).

We were given an opportunity to climb up to a viewpoint, but I decided not to, which turned out to be a very good decision. It was a very hard climb.

The day ended with a lovely group dinner at a restaurant located on the river. We sat on a platform on the water, as the locals - no chairs and a very low table.

We were also given the great opportunity to send a lantern to the sky together. 

The next morning we took the bus to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We visited the COPE Center. An organisation helping people that suffer injuries from the UXOs around the countryside. A very interesting visit. 

That was also the end of my SE Asia adventure! Due to circumstances with flights I left the group early and started my journey home.

It turned out to be a different and a bit dramatic, but I made it all the way home.

Thank you for taking part in my travels! 

I wish you a Happy New Year! May 2019 become a fantastic year!