Day 57

26/08/2009

A short trip to the border where we cleared Chinese exit procedures in under 1 hour and said our good-byes to Tracy.

Laos immigration was almost as quick and we were sorted inside 2 hours in total. We did get talking to two Kiwis (the only other non-Asians at the border) for a while but with the hour we regained we were on our way by 11:30.

We were unsure of the roads in Laos, but the first 20km were excellent, then we moved down a notch or two but the main impediment was the multiple sharp bends as the road wound it's way around the impressive hillsides. Scenery is certainly on a par with the best in China.

Progress was quite slow (about 30kmph) but any progress today was better than our plan. In the end we did about 180km and found a guest house (cost £3.20 for a double room).

The Laos entry in Lonely Planet says it is very laid back, and it's not wrong. Thereis a hint of French colonial influence from the distant past but the pace of life is slow, and it's clearly not an affluent country. One of the advantages of having your own transport is you have a great deal more choice in where to spend your tourist pound. Directing it to the privately run guest house and small restaurant along the street has to be better than the chain hotels of the more obvious tourist spots.

Lat 20 23.48 N
Long 102 21.31 E
Distance 17752km
Town Pakmong

Not sure when the next post will be as I can't send e:mails from my phone in Laos for some reason, so will be next time I have internet access, or when we reach Thailand around 1st September.