The bus ride from Vientiane to Pakse was long and full of surprises. We seemed to spend more time stopped than moving, and every time the bus pulled over, a waiting team of young merchants would climb aboard, selling everything from chewing gum to BBQ meat on a stick! There were a thousand toilet stops, although they usually involved a good old squat in the bushes, in view of half the bus! Fourteen and a half frustrating hours later we gratefully arrived. Pakse ...

Going south through Laos, all buses pass through Vientiane. We were told by a few other travelers not to bother with the tiny capital, so were pleased when Jess received an invite to stay with a local family and avoid the sleazy city centre. On a whim, Jess contacted her long lost former boss from the bakery in Parkes. Connie was almost like an auntie to Jess, and originally from Laos, so Jess thought it would be nice to let her know where we were. She was delig...

After our Gibbon experience, we boarded a Mekong boat with new friends headed for the culturally rich former capital, Luang Prabang. The boat trip took two full days, with an overnight stop in a little river trading village called Pak Beng. The scenery was stunning, with steep green mountains on either side of the wide brown mighty Mekong River. Interestingly for us island dwelling Aussies, for the first twenty-odd kilometres we had Laos on our left and Thailand ...

Due to a rough history, Laos' economic position is much weaker than neighbouring China, Vietnam and Thailand. To improve their economy in the short term, sadly one of the best ways is to allow these neighbours access to their valuable natural resources. The communist big brother China has invested a lot of money in improving Laos roads over the last decade, and in return are ripping apart huge areas of forest for export. Thankfully, there are a few alternative wa...

With only two nights left on our visas, we had to make the most of our limited time in Chiang Rai. The artistic little city turned out to be a lot of fun, weighing in somewhere between touristy Pai and busy but culturally-rich Chiang Mai. We were sad to have to skip through it so quickly. For both nights we waltzed around the night bazaar, enjoying the free traditional dancing and music on offer. We felt rather embarrassed that it took us until our final moments...