After we had observed the rest of the bus's occupants sit down at the nearest roadside café's tables and light up and start on their coffees, we assumed that they would finish loading whatever it was they were loading and then we would be on our way again. We were fully prepared to spend the night on the bus when we got to the border at about 0300. But now it was only 0130. Thank goodness for the young Vietnamese guys who had a smattering of English, "Best...

While most travellers head north in Laos, we had headed south. The only real possibility of crossing into Vietnam was at a place called Lao Bau. But to get there we had to take our four hour long longboat trip to where the river met the tarred road. Our guide needed to head back to Vientiane in the north and we needed to head south to Savannakhet where the buses headed to the border. All you need do, is wave down the bus and away you go. Every little bit of info...

Where the first village had no electricity, this one did. Or maybe those that had the batteries were happy to use them after dark. Where the other village seemed more homely and cosy or otherworldly, this one seemed a little more worldly wise. Certainly the owner of the house that we stayed with seemed to be worldly wise. Maybe that happens when your husband leaves you with the seven children for a younger woman without any means of support? Perhaps that is why ...

Because of the mountainous terrain and thick jungles, rivers are the "main roads" in Laos. Everybody knows how to handle themselves on a boat on the river. Life is lived, and dictated, by the river. For the next three days, Ing, Noy and I were heading down the Nam Hin River and staying in local villages along the way. Water means life. You can drink, use it to irrigate crops and fish are abundant in it. Rivers tend to follow the path of least resistanc...

Laos is blessed with some outstanding adventure terrain. If you like to get out and about, this is the place. But it is also the place of meeting tribes, people and cultures far off the beaten trail. It is a place of rivers and jungles. But it is also a country that has endured one invader after another. And where we were headed, the most recent war would continue to remind us. Laos has more mountains and rivers you can count. We, and our guide Noy, were on ou...