Being the
heathens that we are, when people asked us in Luang Prabang where we were
heading to next, we’d told them “OOODOooMMMOXXEEE”, which they’d stared us
strangely, until we pointed to the map and they’d said, “Ahhh….Udomxai”. Stubbornly,
we continued to call it by its Australian name.
The closer
we drove to China, the less
like Laos
things started to look, from the roads to the signs to the people.
It seems China have become very fond of some of Laos natural resources in recent years, evident
by the inroads (literally) they’ve made
in the north to access them (unfortunately, these were the best roads in Laos).
Whilst Joe
tinkered and repacked the car in preparation for the border crossing in two
days time, I wandered to the last of the Laos markets keen to find some
cutesy handmade last minute gifts. On arrival, I was devastated to find that I
was already in China,
surrounded by cheap plastic tack. Bye Laos. Sniff.