It was time for country number 7 on our itinerary and we were excited as Laos was also a country we had not previously visited. It was always in our plans but a last minute change meant we were heading there a couple of weeks sooner than originally planned. After working our way up the East coast of Vietnam our next destination would have been Hanoi. We had already visited the bleak communist capital of Vietnam a few years ago, so the thought of rain and 15 degree temperatures prompted a quick change of plan, instead heading West into Laos.

On odd days a bus runs from Hue to the border (3.5hrs 150km) and then a further 250 km (5hrs) across the width of Laos to the riverside town of Savannaket.

We arrived at the pick up point at 5.50am and after a long wait we were a little disappointed to find out the bus actually leaves at 6.45am. We should have known better as tour companies do like to tell porkies about departure times to ensure you are there on time. Another couple rocked up at 6.35 and the bus complete with just the 4 of us left on time. Our fellow passengers were English and the inevitable 'where have you been and where are you going etc' conversation occupied the first 90 minutes until we reached Dong Ha and changed to a slightly smaller and fuller bus for the remainder of the journey. A bus to ourselves for the whole trip did seem a little too good to be true! The trip to the border retraced our route along highway 9 from the previous days DMZ trip with an additional 20km to reach the Laos border.

We obviously didn't portray any tell tale signs of the opium, alcohol or weapon smuggling adversaries of the Vietnamese border control authorities and they were happy to let us leave without a need to even look at our bags. A 200 yard walk across no mans land in the baking midday sun was all that stood between us and our next destination. That and a hoard of persistent money exchange ladies clutching a wadge of dong, dollar or kip and offering a very low rate. One of them was even happy to change our remaining 30,000 dong (£1) for 10,000 Kip (85p) so we at least had some Lao money to enter the country with. This actually proved short lived as a young couple on our bus were 10,000 short and the visa man didn't appear to be budging!

The visa on arrival was a simple form and with no ATM or photo booth evident we were glad to have brought dollars and passport photos along. Expecting to pay $35 we queried the $41 asking price. Apparently the exchange rate isn't what it was last year...yeah right!

Back on the bus for the remaining 250 km to Savannaket and our first glimpses of Laos. The scenery changed almost instantly with dense green jungle giving way to dry sun scorched yellow grass fields. Palm trees, thick vegetation and paddy fields were replaced by scrub, high grass and a landscape of more European looking trees. Dotted throughout this barren landscape, standing proudly were varying quality sheds on stilts. These one room homes made of wood and bamboo contain basic matting on the floor and a tin or thatched roof and all seem to come complete with a satellite dish, presumably so that they wouldn't miss an episode of X Factor or Eastenders!

Children were playing happily in the fields they shared with the family chickens and pigs foraging for scraps in the dust. A somewhat alarming thought given that land mines and unexploded ordinance litter the border areas. As with its Vietnamese neighbours, thousands of people, a large number of which are children, are killed or maimed annually by this lethal scrap shiny metal. The problem is actually worse in Laos than Vietnam as more areas remain uncleared due to the billions of dollars required to pay for the work.

Occasionally we passed through roadside villages with signs of life and sometimes even a single wooden shed housing a school. One young lad leaving school had no bag but was instead clutching tightly to a precious 80's style black and white patched football under his arm.

The roads were noticeably quieter and mopeds virtually non existent. Laws must be a little slacker too as the driver was now pressing the accelerator to a remarkable 50-70km/h. Holes in the road, or cows however still gave the driver plenty of opportunities to brake or swerve wildly and throw the passengers from one side to another.

The landscape barely changed and eventually after another long but fascinating journey we pulled in to Savannaket. Labelled as the 2nd biggest city in Laos it is very quiet and tiny by Asian standards. 3wks after parting company with the mighty Mekong river in South Vietnam we now could continue our acquaintance.

We will follow the Mekong for the next 2 weeks South across the border into Cambodia and then take a boat on it West to Siem Riep. The arrival in a new country also produced excitement at the opportunity to taste the latest local drop...this time the Laos favourite of Beerlao!