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Day 54 & 55-Goodbye Laos and Hello Thailand


Day 54

My mother always told me that only boring people get bored... I must be the most boring person going. Today we had a 9 hour trip on a boat down the Mekong river to get to the village we are staying at tonight. Well... after I had eaten my breakfast, watched some Netflix, had a nap, read my book, eaten lunch watched some more Netflix, did a little drawing I was bored. This is still with 3 hours to go.







We finally arrived at Huay Thoom. This is a village of about 300 people consisting of 50 family’s. The village make their money mainly from farming. There is a local primary school and lots of farm animals.









We were given a welcome ceremony by the village chief and 
other members of the village.





We then tucked in to a lovely traditional meal. 



In the evening we ended up playing with some of the kids from the village. As soon as they saw our smart phones all they wanted to do was play games. Luckily I have a child friendly game of Tetris installed which they absolutely loved. We then settled in for an early night before an early start the next day 

Day 55

It was an early start to be back on the boat for 5am. I absolutely loved staying in the village. The people were so friendly and welcoming. The life of these people is tough. They don’t have a lot of money. Education is not free in Laos and therefore not everyone is educated. The kids also finish school at 13. Those who do go to school sometimes go to the cities to work and others come back to the village and get married. People here get married at a young age (around 13/14). The average family in the village have about 6 or 7 kids. It’s so hard to see the limited options for these people however the kids were so happy and well looked after. There is a real community spirit. It’s strange every time I see a community with very little how much I put into perspective how materialistic the west is. We are so spoilt and privileged. We value the complete wrong things. Being here just makes me want to be home with the people I love. Just so I can tell everyone how much I value them. I used to think that having a certain job or paycheck is happiness however that’s really not the case. I will continue to figure out the definition of happiness but it’s just so different to what I originally thought that it might take me some time. 

Today we leave Laos to head to Thailand. I must say I have really loved Laos. The culture is so different but the people are so friendly. The food has been incredible and I have seen some of the most beautiful sights. It is definitely somewhere I’m coming back to. 

Things I have learnt about Laos
  • The war between Vietnam and America had a major impact on the country. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita in history.
  • There are still a lot of unexploded bombs throughout the country which still pose a danger to local people.
  • Healthcare has recently become free to local people (yayyy!)
  • Schooling is not free, this really saddens me and is something I hope changes soon!
  • The freshwater fish here is incredible.
  • I have never seen a waterfall so beautiful! 
  • The landscape is really hilly and mountainous- this makes it difficult for local rural people as there is a lack of road infrastructure.
  • Laos is a communist country. 
  • Laos has a population of 7 million people which is quite small in comparison to the neighbouring countries of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia 

Some of my Laos highlights are below! 



Temples in Vientian  

 Cave tubing in Vang Vieng

Kayaking (something I now really love to do) 



 Kuang Sri Waterfalls 

Seeing a sign with London on it in Luang Prabang. I know it’s silly but just seeing this sign made me so happy. 

After leaving Laos we made our way to the Thai boarder. I was really anxious and a little unsure after my issues getting out of the country last time with my visa. I was prepared with all my exit information and bank information. However... much to my surprise I breezed through immigration with no issues. They didn’t want to see any information and I was so relieved! 


It was a yummy fish dinner and an early night before an early start tomorrow! 








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