Every now and then you find a travel destination which is more exciting than the rest. There’s something in the air which is electric; a kind of vibration which turns the head and sends you soaring heart-first into happiness. Laos is such a place.

No matter what anybody at the Laotian Embassy in Bangkok tells you, it is simple and straightforward to get your car into Laos. The passage at the friendship bridge took only half an hour. Just up the road is Vientiane. The capital it may be, but it has all the charm and dimensions of a provincial town in the south of France. We had heard a lot about it before we got there. We were not disappointed.

We then drove north to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. A word about driving in Laos. For the first time in a long time we’re driving on the right hand side of the road again and that’s a pleasure. But the real pleasure is the traffic: there isn’t any. And the little that there is is silent, slow and unhurried.

Here then is our latest news from the front. Vientiane, Vian Vieng, Luang Prabang, a day with the hill tribe, and the unforgettable Route Thirteen which in all our Laotian diversions was our artery to heaven.



Mair