Time is passing quickly in Laos. And what a great country it is. I came in from Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam which landed me on the Nam Ou river. It’s a scenic and less traveled part of the country. I spent more than a week, traveling up and down the river. I visited the Phongsaly, a northern provincial captial. It’s up in the mountains, a solid days travel from pretty much everything. Definitely felt like a frontier town. Lots of Laos feels small (though there are plenty of tourists). I’ve only taken one bus journey, and it was 10 hours on a ‘major’ road that had hardly no traffic. Imagine one and a half lanes, with a moto going by every five minutes. So far I’ve been to seven towns, none of them feel like they’re over 15,000 people.

I rented a mountain bike today and rode all day around Luang Nam Tha. Just bumpy roads, villages, etc. Good exercise and a great way to get a feel for a place. Tomorrow I’m planning on rented a moto for three or four days and riding around the region. Muang Sing, a village on the way, a jungle,…

Keeping on the small theme. I got to my first ATM, finally.

Oh and I hung out with an enjoyable crew of travelers in Muang Ngoi Neua. It’s a river access only touristy village. Just one of those super chill places. Of course, lots of Lao Lao was consumed.

I’ve also been within a few dozen or less miles of China for much of my time. So there is lots of Chinese influence. The bus stop restaurant yesterday sold liquor with various different animal parts in it. Including a jar with what looked like a red panda paw. Gross!

I’m wanting to go on a “trek”, but I keep getting the impression from people that they are lame-o. I don’t know what I’ll do.

I’m also sorting my onward travel. I’ll probably not spend time in Thailand, besides to use the Bangkok airport to get to Myanmar in three weeks. Then three or so weeks there before flying to Nepal in mid April.