NEVER A DULL MOMENT

I carried on down the Mekong valley, through Vang Vieng. It got hotter, and huge karst cliffs loomed over the road as I battled with minibuses for road space. The scenery changed noticeably as I rode south, out of the verdant highland climate into dry and dusty arable land, with fields full of workers harvesting rice and wheat by hand.

Another thing that changed as I went further south in Laos was the headgear. Up in the hills, everybody wore turbans or some kind of traditional rag covering, or the occasional bundle of firewood. Further south, that all changed to jaunty baseball caps, army helmets, bike helmets (bike optional), a towel or just a jacket hood. Having an uncovered head is obviously not the done thing in Laos.

Fashion aside, I think the Laotians were some of the coolest people I’d met anywhere in Asia. Although almost everybody there is dirt poor, living in palm huts, washing at the local pump, and getting by on