Laos
After the first three countries Laos was like a quiet Sunday afternoon. Less traffic, less aggressive commerce and a whole lot of nothing going on. The capital city was one of the quietess that I have ever been to and there downtown area was small, clean and organized. The complete opposite of some of its SE Asian counterparts. Got sick as a dog on New Years Eve but from the food and not the booze. Half of my trip was hanging around guesthouses and watching every bad movie on HBO.
Laos was the most heavily bombed place on earth so going off the beaten path was not that wise. The entire country in pock marked as you see it from the air. The US has still to admit that it had a bombing campaign there.
It is still a Police State and is still fairly lawless in some areas. On a bus trip that I was on there was at least 3 locals carrying sub-machine guns. I felt quite self knowing that I was packing a leathermen and was prepared to use it.
Laos seems to be geared towards outdoor activities. Rafting, tubing, mountain biking and hiking are the big activities. So is doing a whole lot of nothing, which seems to be anathema to its neighbors.
|
