This section from Vieng Phu Kha to Luang Namtha is the forty-third instalment of my bicycle loop through South-East Asia from Yunnan – if all goes according to plan. Titled “Slap the Belgian!”, it is simultaneously published on Crazyguyonabike.com, where you’ll find a map with the itinerary and many other bicycle diaries by me and others. I hope you’ll enjoy.
One of the things I forgot about Laos is that rural people (which is pretty much everyone outside Vientiane) wake up to the lovely sound of news and other government propaganda. The voices and music starts squealing from 6 am through old-school conical loudspeakers mounted on electricity poles all around town. It also doesn’t quite stop until 7.30 or even 8 am, that’s how much news there is. Well I guess if you’re Lao, everything is news.
