Luang Prabang and the north of Laos

After all my previous visits to Laos in the last 16 years this excursion to the north and north-east of Laos was one of my most exciting tours in this fascinating country. The destination Phongsali is so much beside the main routes that its better to be reach from Yunnan/China than from the south part of Laos; we did it coming from Oudom Xai 232 km to Phongsali with the speed of 15 - 20 km per hour. The way back was a boat ride on the Ou river 7 hours from Hat Sa to Muang Khua.

An important side trip we made was Boten, the bordertown to Yunnan in China. Boten now is lease by the Chinese gouvernment for the next 30 years with an option to extent another 30 years. Boten now is China, although is located still on Laotian territory. The language is Mandarin, the clock shows Chinese time, not the time from Vientiane, the scriptions all are Chinese and the people 90 % are Chinese. Big hotels and a casino is in construction and the hospitality is Chinese style not Laotian. A habitant once told that after many generations he would go to a Laotian part were Laos still is Laos.

During the whole trip we often met people from the Hmong tribes in their beautiful traditional costumes, always begging us to join their celebrations and festivals. Boy and girl or girl and girl (or me and girl) through a wooden ball to each other and wish them a happy lucky future. The sense to meet each other and to find each other and to start a maybe combined matrimonial community.

The Hmong (pronounced [m̥ɔ̃ŋ]), or Mong, are an Asian ethnic group of people from the mountainous regions of Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao, known as the Meo people in Laos and Thailand, ethnicity in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to find more arable land.
A number of Hmong (or Mong) people fought against the communist-nationalist Pathet Lao during the Secret War in Laos. Hmong and Mong people were singled out for retribution when the Pathet Lao took over the Laotian government in 1975, and tens of thousands fled to Thailand seeking political asylum.

We started our tour in Luang Prabang and finished it in the same historical main city. All the way to the north and to the outermost isolated northeast Corner Phongsali. Our friend and driver took care all the time in this hidden part of the amazing country Laos.

After all my previous visits to Laos in the last 16 years this excursion to the north and north-east of Laos was one of my most exciting tours in this fascinating country. The destination Phongsali is so much beside the main routes that its better to be reach from Yunnan/China than from the south part of Laos; we did it coming from Oudom Xai 232 km to Phongsali with the speed of 15 - 20 km per hou…  (read more)