After Laos, Bangkok seemed like the biggest metropolis on earth. There are, literally, more ATMs in Bangkok central station than there are in the whole of Laos.

And after Bangkok, England seems very peaceful and slow. Bah. I am still jetlagged and sulky about being back at work already. Looking back on it now, it seems so incredibly remote. I' ( Read more... )

We have come down out of the mountains on to the flat plains of eastern Laos, travelling for ten hours in a bus full of bags of rice, loose fruit, truck tyres and what may have been a goat.  The seats were clearly designed with glee by Vietnamese manufacturers as a way of exacting revenge on any long-legged falang stupid enough to ride one.  Wedged ( Read more... )

In Laos, every man has to be a monk, at least for a little while. Some stay in a monastery for just a month or two, others for several years. A few never leave. It's kind of like national service, except that instead of learning how to kill people, you learn to be peaceful and think about things. Is it naive of me to think that if more countries ( Read more... )

The best massages in Laos were reputed to take place at an old temple on the edge of Vientiane, the wat Sok Pha Luang.  We were dropped off there by a tuktuk and followed a tiny trail past the temple gates into the surrounding jungle, all tree roots and creepers and, inevitably, insects.  A couple of dogs barked at us but apart from that the place ( Read more... )

The train to the Lao border takes 12 hours, and we travelled overnight.  It was a shame to miss the scenery of northern Thailand, but then there is a different kind of pleasure in feeling that the night is rushing past you, that you're in motion, on the move.  I love it!

All the first-class tickets had sold out, so we ended up in a carriage with ( Read more... )