Luang Prabang

 

The road to Luang Prabang was stunningly beautiful, and a hard ride. In the dry season it was possible to do the journey in two days.  In the rainy season, it took three. Now, with a paved road, it takes less than seven hours to cover 310 kilometres. I did this trip twice with Pat Hunt and Rod Stanbrook. If it was going to take three days, the best places to spend the nights were Vang Vieng and Muong Kassi. The next village, Sala Phou Koun, was the junction with the road that ran east to Muong Sui, Phonsavane and Xieng Khouang on the Plain of Jars, and it was the scene of frequent clashes wit the Pathet Lao. At night, the Pathet Lao controlled the road, and sometimes they were present in the villages we stayed in. We always made it clear to the villagers that we were not American, even to the extent of speaking bad French. 

Along the road, we saw many Yao and Hmong tribespeople, like this old man, who is Yao (also called Mien).