The day from Sop Lau to just past Phonsavan was great. Nice weather, good road. The morning was spent in the mountains with beautiful misty scenery.
Parts of the hillsides are cleared to grow corn. I saw corn growing on the side of the road and in front of houses.
Many of the villages we passed through so far seemed ok in that the people seemed happy and well kept, and the kids would smile and wave as we passed. This day, however, we passed through some villages that seemed very poor: the houses were really run down, the children were scraggly and unkept, and nobody smiled or waved. Heartbreaking.
As we rode into Laos, the landscape changed from the steep limestone cliffs of Northern Vietnam, to red clay hills.
We came out of the mountains into a broad valley that had cities and the people seemed well off.
We kept going until we reached Phonsavan. This is a tourist destination which is near the famous archealogical site called the Plain of Jars. The origin of the Jars is not clear, but they date from about the 5th century. It is also a place that was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War.
Parts of the hillsides are cleared to grow corn. I saw corn growing on the side of the road and in front of houses.
Many of the villages we passed through so far seemed ok in that the people seemed happy and well kept, and the kids would smile and wave as we passed. This day, however, we passed through some villages that seemed very poor: the houses were really run down, the children were scraggly and unkept, and nobody smiled or waved. Heartbreaking.
As we rode into Laos, the landscape changed from the steep limestone cliffs of Northern Vietnam, to red clay hills.
We came out of the mountains into a broad valley that had cities and the people seemed well off.
We kept going until we reached Phonsavan. This is a tourist destination which is near the famous archealogical site called the Plain of Jars. The origin of the Jars is not clear, but they date from about the 5th century. It is also a place that was bombed heavily during the Vietnam War.
Laos is different from Vietnam in that religion has a much bigger presence. In Laos every town has a Buddhist temple.
After Phonsavan we continued until we hit a nice guest house about 20km out of town. It was actually run by the family of a doctor who worked on town. We talked a bit about the medical system. A year ago, medical care was made free in Laos, but the people in the mountains either don't know or don't believe it, so they don't seek medical care when they need it.
They next day we continued to Vang Vieng. Ran into some heavy rain. On the way we passed an area of steep hills reminiscint of Northern Vietnam.
The mountains made a great background to the stalls along the road.
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