On my way out of Laos … :(

After that trek in Luang Namtha, I had to leave Laos to go back in Thailand. 3 tuk-tuk, 2 bus, 1 boat later I was in Chiang Rai, in the North of Thailand !!

I’m a bit sad to leave Laos, I wish I had more time to see more of this country, specially all the south that I didn’t see at all !!
I really loved this country, the people are also very nice and the culture is also very different!
In Laos you have to be relax, no stress, no rush, take your time !! it is very poor country  much less developed that Vietnam or Thailand.
It is not in their culture to complain, so if you do something offending for them they will just be annoyed and feel uncomfortable  but they won’t let you know, therefor it is important to know a bit about their culture before going there. So you know what to do and don’t do to respect them!! On few place they put some sign to explain a bit their culture and way of life. For example Lao people like to party as much as everyone else, but they do so during the day, so they can go to bed early, as they usually start working very early in the morning! Also for exemple it is considered very rude to dress improperly  you should always have a shirt on, and avoid showing too much skin, they will feel very uncomfortable and they don’t want their children to take that as an example!  You can see a lot of lao people shirt-less, but they do that ONLY in their own neighborhood. So don’t use that as an excuse to do the same, it is unrespectful for their culture.

That’s why Laos is known as having no night-life, but that don’t mean they can’t party, just that in their culture, they party much earlier. And therefore, most of the bars and restaurant close at 10 or 11PM and in many guesthouse, you are supposed to be back in your room before midnight!

I have seen few remote villages and it is always very nice experience to see how they live, many don’t even have electricity, they live almost only from farming, hunting, fishing. Some kids have never seen any western people or people with a big beard for example, and can be very afraid the first time they see some !

The landscape all around is really beautiful  and I think visiting laos at the end of dry season like I did, or just after the rainy season, would make a huge difference. all the river are very very low, some big lakes are almost empty, all the rice field are very dry and unexploited at this time.

So I really loved laos, I feel like it’s very different from any other country I have seen, amazing scenery, amazing people and very relax atmosphere. It’s really a good mix to make me want to come back and see more !!