Our time in Laos was short but sweet. We enjoyed our time further north in this cool, mountainous, landlocked, fascinating and rapidly-changing country.

All Aboard the Slow Boat

We stayed on the Thai border for a night (on the hardest “mattress” ever) overlooking Laos on the other side of the Mekong river. The next morning we went the long way round to the border over one of the “friendship” bridges rather than take a short ferry. We then took a slow boat back past where we stayed.

This first boat was not so good. There were not enough seats for all the passengers and the seats there were had been cut out of various coaches and minibuses. It was loud and smelly near the engine so get on quick and get a seat near the front.

Electric Sheep

Our overnight accommodation had better beds but the electrics were seriously dodgy. I would have been less worried about the exposed breaker terminals next to the shower and the cling-filmed socket had we not received shocks from our phones on charge (not happened before or since with the same charger).

To be fair, the kettle in our main accommodation in Luang Prabang had an Australian plug with the earth pin ripped out that you had to jam into the socket. So it appears that bodges are common.

Day Two

The second boat was better and smaller. The seats were out of vehicles again but were more supporting. There were power sockets but they didn’t work.

It was cold in the morning but brightened up later (a common pattern). The big bags were put below deck so it’s a good idea to pack a jacket and sunscreen in your carry-on.

Building Bridges

There will soon be additional options to the river, road and runway. We saw many bridges under construction on our cruise downriver. The railway is coming.

A new train line is being built between the capital of Vientiane and Boten on the Chinese border. This will complete the line between Kunming in China and Singapore. When it opens in the next few years it has the potential to radically change the character of this country. We were told that the price of Chinese products at the market was less than half that of local produce and Chinese tourism is growing rapidly. The line is partly funded and built by China.

All the Station

While not technically correct, it’s fair to say that Laos doesn’t currently have a railway. If they made an All The Stations about Laos today it would be very short and they would have to rename it to All The Station. The new line will change all that and make getting to Luang Prabang overland much easier. This will be an electric line and we also saw some EVs, such as a minibus and this tuk tuk from Japan.

Power demand is predicted to significantly increase and new hydro projects are being constructed, such as the controversial Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong downstream of Luang Prabang. Time will tell how this affects river levels and navigation on the Mekong and Ou.

The main source of energy for cooking appears to be charcoal. While this is carbon neutral, it certainly adds a certain character to the atmosphere.