Change of scene

Leaving Vietnam was a real adventure: We took a mini van from Sapa to Dien Bien Phu (a small town and necessary stop on the way to Laos) and  even though we were lucky as there were only eight other backpackers (with a big and a small backpack each) it got pretty cozy once the 3 locals, the driver and his assistant and the tons of cargo were added into the mix. Now imagine a very small dirt road that goes up and down the mountains in narrow serpentines through dense fog with visibilities of less than 10 meters and no guard railing at all - you'll somewhat understand but don't necessarily sympathize with our fellow travellers that got motion sick on the way and iteratively filled small plastic bags with the remains of last night's party, breakfast or lunch. The occassioanl smell of puke and the splashing sound of the bags hitting ground after being thrown out of the window were the least of our troubles, though. The huge but hidden potholes leading to permanent course corrections and regularly heavy shocks and a driver eager to break a new lap record and therefore not only going very fast, but also overtaking each and every other vehicle on the road ( including motorbikes, cars, vans, busses and even big trucks that were forced to drive into the jungle to let us overtake) kept our minds busy the rest of the time. Nonetheless, it was a relatively safe ride as our driver was smart enough to stop and wait whenever the road was too bad (others tried and failed to go up muddy paths and often there wasn't much missing before they would have fallen down into the river next to the road) and we arrived safely in Dien Bien Phu where we shared a nice evening with Eva and Bernd whom we had met on the mini bus and made our way to Laos with.

On the next day we continued to Laos at 5 a, this time with a local bus. Although we stopped after 10 minutes to change a tire, the ride was more pleasant as the roads got better. Arriving at the border to Laos (Panghok) we had to fill out our arrival cards and the application form for the Visa. When we wanted to hand in the forms all offices were empty as the officials had dissappeared into thin air - our first encounter with what everyone calls "Lao time". There was nothing to do except waiting. After more than 40 relaxed minutes, the border officials came back from what turned out to had been there breakfast break and we could hand in the forms and get the Visa. We arrived in Laos. We arrived more than two hours ahead of schedule in Muang Khua, our first stop in the new country, due to unexpectedly good streets. When we got there, we were surprised once more: the expected herd of tuk tuk, taxi or moto drivers who try to win you as their customers as soon as you stand up inside the bus was missing - there was simply nobody taking notice of us and for the first time we had no clue were to go or what to do - and enjoyed it. We followed another traveller's recommendation for a guesthouse with a beautiful view on the river and spent a quiet evening with Eva and Bernd on the porch, enjoying local food and booze, good conversation and the insect-hunting-skills of the owner's son. In the morning we were woken up by carking roosters and the rattling of motorbikes crossing the bridge. We left Muang Khua to continue our journey to Muang Ngoy Neua. According to the most common way of transportation in Laos we took the boat down the Nam Ou river.

This is also the only way to go there, as Muang Ngoy Neua is a town that no roads lead to. It is also not connected to the electricity grid and only from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm a diesel generator provides some electricity. Of course there is no internet and also no mobile phone network - a perfect place to get to know the rural life and the Laos people. We did a guided one day track to visit Hmong and Khomu villages a bit down the river. The landscape was stunning: Deep, untouched jungle, dotted by rice fields in front of impressive karst mountains with wooden houses on stilts right inbetween. The chief of the Hmong village welcomed us with tea and sugar cane bites and we could walk around the village to see how the people of this minority live today.

We left Muang Ngoy Neua when we needed a little independence from daylight (which happened after only two nights - we are so spoiled) and took the boat to Nong Khiaw. Both towns are similar but Nong Khiaw has a road connection to Luang Prabang, electricity, internet, phone network and, urgently needed, an ATM. Nonetheless, it has the same relaxed atmosphere that we found right after we entered Laos. One reason for this impression of total calmness might as well be that so far we found prices being fairly fixed in Laos so there is little hustle when tourists come by. Anyway, because of this very relaxed atmosphere, we decided to stay in Nong Khiaw for two nights to enjoy the beautiful landscape and to chill out in the hammock on the front porch.

There are several caves scattered throughout the mountains around town, so we went down the main road to visit one of them. Most of the locals hid here or in similar caves during the attacks of american bombers during the war in Vietnam. Since the region is right on the Ho Chi Minh trail, enormous amouts of bombs were dropped here to stop the reinforcements of the Vietcong that were sent south. Today, even though there are signs in the cave telling you how it was used, it is hard to imagine how these people must have felt at that time. On the way back to the village we visited a small temple near our guesthouse where we found new friends: some children, getting ready to play some good old football, insisted on having a picture taken of them. In the end it wasn't only one picture but quite a number of them as the kids were pretty picky about the outcome.

Tomorrow we will get on a bus again and go to Luang Prabang - the old capital of Laos.