Laos

Laos is a country in the heart of Southeast Asia. The country is enclosed by Myanmar and China in the northwest, Vietnam in the east, Cambodia in the south-east, and Thailand in the west and south-west.
About 6.5 million people live there, the country is about six times the size of the Netherlands.
How do you briefly describe an entire country, we find that very difficult. We therefore limit ourselves to the things we have noticed during this trip.

The people in Laos are usually very friendly, helpful and calm. Especially in cities they speak reasonable English, and often Thai. We do not know how that is in the countryside.
The country is very mountainous. Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng are located between the mountains and the roads lead through mountainous areas. Vientiane appears to be in a flatter area.
The infrastructure is not well developed. We have only seen, often bad, two-lane roads between cities, which are called very optimistic highways. Somewhere in the interior we have seen a nice dual carriageway under construction. There are also four-lane roads in Vientiane.
On the route from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and from Vang Vien to Vientiane we saw a railway under construction.
The influence of China on Laos seems to be large, there are many cars made in China, and many with Chinese license plates. Infrastructure and construction projects are often carried out by Chinese companies.
During this trip it is quiet in Laos, we have seen quite a few tourists, both Western and Asian.
The food in Laos is quite bland, especially if you are used to Thai cuisine. Many dishes look like a Thai counterpart, but with less spicy herbs

We were here on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, on Thursday, March 5, 2020, on Friday, March 6, 2020, on Saturday, March 7, 2020, on Sunday, March 8, 2020, on Monday, March 9, 2020 and on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.

Written on: 2020-03-14