M-whY

I was on my way to Phonsavanh, rolling through the mountainous terrain of northern Laos. The roads were an engineering marvel, carved out of the mountain faces. Its completion would've been quite a feat for a first world country, let alone a developing one.

Actually, to call Laos a developing country might be too big an honor. It seems more like a country that has yet to find its way. Until recently, the US had suppressed the communist nation under the same embargos it gave Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Libya. Not exactly the best company to be in. Nowadays, trade relations have improved, but it will still be years before Laos manages to shed its current Least Developed Country status.

We passed village after village consisting of thatch roofed huts. Larger towns might have a few homes with corrugated metal. The people here are poor; it doesn't take brains to figure that out. Life here seems to be stuck in first gear, if that analogy can be made in a place where people still walk from one village to the next. Kids were still allowed to be kids, but they also had responsibilities in taking care of their younger siblings. It wasn't uncommon to see a ten year old child with her baby brother on her back. An optimist would describe the mood as peaceful, the pessimist would say it was somber. This wasn't all of Laos, but we passed enough communities like this for me to be confident in saying this wasn't an exception.

Driving through these slow moving villages felt safe enough, though any guidebook will warn you of the danger of violence on the road. Armed attacks on government buses have occurred, especially on the routes that I happened to be travelling on. This is no reason to not visit Laos. Plenty of travellers make this journey everyday without incident. All the same, the first time I saw someone walking alongside the road with a rifle did make my heart skip a beat. He might've been government personnel, but he was dressed like any other person. It was a sight that I soon got used to though, and later when I found out someone on the bus was also packing arms, I didn't even give it a second glance.

After eight hours on the road, we finally pulled into the bus station at Phonsavanh. A taxi took me into town.

"Where did you just come from?" asked the driver.

"Luang Prabang."

"Was it raining there?"

"Not when I left."

"Here, it started raining yesterday and it hasn't stopped today."

My arrival seemed to change that though. A rainbow up above signalled the end of the rain. I took a stroll through the town and, finding nothing of interest except an expensive internet cafe, returned my guesthouse to unwind. Long bus rides are so draining.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!