Laos is a beautiful country hemmed between Thailand, China, Cambodia and Vietnam. As with so many countries it is the people that make the difference and win over your heart. We travelled down the Mehkong river from Huay Xai which was a lovely way to see more of the country but also as Jo outlined in her post a bit club 18 – 30. I managed to consume far too much beer lao with some Irish guys who were excellent company as we drifted down the muddy river towards Louang Phabang.
Louang Phabang was rather refined in some ways. The old town was beautiful, scattered with amazing French colonial buildings and tempting restaurants. The highlight for me was a small cafe bookshop named after my favourite book, L’etranger. In addition to an excellent selection of secondhand books it also had a separate tea menu. All in all a rather nice way to spend the day.
We then caught a bus across to Phonsavan cutting through some lovely countryside. At one of our many stops we went for a walk around a local market which offered many culinary delights. Highlights included an Oscillot wild cat offered ready to be skinned and eaten, some kind of grub things, toasted rat on lolly sticks, a stork, cows head and the rather delicious looking well developed chick eggs. After Jo gorged herself on these treats and had wiped the cat fur from her mouth and plucked the chick feathers from between her teeth we headed off for Phonsavan.
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