When we stepped off the boat I joked, "Wow it feels so different," little did I know that it actually would be. We stayed overnight in Huai Xai, across the river from Chang Khong in Thailand, on the first night. The town was definitely the smalled town I'd been in yet and immediately felt quite different to anywhere I'd stayed in Thailand so far. The place was very laid back and moved at a far slower pace ... wait 20 minutes for them to make a banana milkshake when you're the only customer, for example - but why not? It just makes everything seem better and even more relaxed. At the same time, a lot of the buildings, even in this tiny town, felt very practical, basic, almost how you'd imagine communist buildings in a Russian spy movie.
We were reliably informed by our tour operator that you
do pronounce the 's' in Laos and that a person from Laos is called a Lao. The currency is the Kip and don't expect electricity everywhere you go. Welcome to Laos - I'm looking forward to this already.
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