Laos is a country that has been drawn into and been subjected to its fair share of conflict over many decades. To a degree caused by other nations rattling swords and beating chests. And the need to appease neighbours. To name but a few of these conflicts they include but are not limited to: The Indo-China wars ( there have been several of these) caused by US support of anti -Communist forces. The Japanese occupation during WW II, the US in the eighties. The Khmer Rouge also in the eighties. The French have also been in country, but treated them as equal and encouraged them to fight for independence and democracy. Between 1964 and 1973 more than two million tonnes of bombs were dropped on Laos by the Americans. Equaling the amount dropped on Europe and Asia during WWII making it the most bombed country in the world. 
This I find staggering and very sad. The last invaders were the Thai Hmong people who crossed the border in 1990. Through all this they have maintained their culture and identity.
My observation is that they are a nation who mistrust people. Maybe the memory of the adult generation is still fresh. They cling on to their culture and past, whilst trying to embrace the future, without really knowing what that is.
28th April Chiang Khong to Louang Namtha.
From the Thai side in Chiang Khong we encounter a crossing devoid of people. 
So much so that inadvertently, we go passed the passport control that has its shutters closed, so on to customs. This is swiftly rectified by a very officious guard who is condescending and rude to us. Even Rung is surprised, and explains the mistake. Our passports are once again stamped. We say good bye to Looket and Rung. They have been awesome guides. 
Good humoured and fun. They have been exceptionally professional. Their ability to adapt and arrange say a mechanic when required was great. We leave Thailand, and it’s semi orderly roading, albeit with drivers who crisscrossed around you on the road, the humidity and heat, temples, and roadside shops selling fresh fruit, and enter Laos.
The border is deserted except for the group of Thais’ motorbiking from Thailand to Paris.
It’s a Sunday so is very Peacefully quiet. Passports stamped, Carnet stamped, entry tax paid. It’s 1500 Baht plus 30 Baht surcharge……..because it’s Sunday! borders are somewhat predictably unpredictable.
The roads are awful. Full of potholes and uneven surfaces. And the area we are heading into is very steep and hilly. 
The corners are sharp and often steep. They have no concept of gradient. It’s straight up and pretty much straight down. This is tough on the gears as well as the brakes on the way down. And I haven’t even mentioned Julia’s nerves!
Not only am I concentrating on driving on the right for the first time, but also avoiding huge cavernous potholes and trucks. The trucks, are all over the place. They don’t always stay on their side of the road. And passing occurs at any place they like. this in hot and humid dusty air that has been ‘filtered’ through our double aircon systems. The first is the famous Land Rover vent through the dash. The second is our trusty 12v fan a gift to Julia from Kirk and Sarah Milligan. This fan oscillates suspended from the windscreen frame and has been one of our Luxuries on the drive!
Our first night is in a lovely guesthouse called ‘Thoulasith Guesthouse’. Simple, with a court yard and a balconied landing at each level. 
After dark we hear a loud animal noise that initially we can’t quite put our finger on. On research, we find it’s a small gecko called a Tokay Gecko.
We also get every rooster in the district going for it. I reset the points gap in the distributor and the old boy is roaring again. A new set of eight plugs are set to a 0.25mm gap ready to replace when required. With Fred being ‘out of sorts’ and not getting the full spark, he lacks power under acceleration. Not having power, up these hills is not much fun. The heat we find has closed the points gap every now and then as the contact gets eroded.
29th April Nong Khiaw.
I’m glad I set the points yesterday as the road is once again in poor condition. We are heading to a remote province, and a guesthouse which is a much easier drive. The guesthouse is across a bridge set among giant towering jagged hills. The sides are steep and close. Guesthouse is very basic and padlocked from the outside! Air con hardly works. But this is the real Laos. 
We leave some laundry with one of the women who weighs it. 10,000 Kip per Kg. Dinner is on a deck over looking The river Ou. A busy river with long boats and lights on the banks blinking in the dark. At dinner we see our washing hung quite carelessly over the rails of the restaurant decking? For all the guests to see! 
As it’s a hot but humid night I hope that it will be dry before we leave in the morning? The colours of Laos are like a watercolour painters palette. Greens, yellows, and reddy browns. The hues all the more vivid in the sun.
30th April Louang Prabang.
We backtrack up and over the hills again to Louang Prabang. Along the road are small hamlets or villages a single hose deep off the road. Some are tidy and well kept some are a mess. The huts are simple wooden shelters with banana leaf roofing. 
the shelters by the road are building up a red plastering of dust, built up layer on layer from the trucks as they thunder past their dwellings. Clearly there hasn’t been rain here for a while to wash away ‘the traffic’. Fire wood appears to be a major past time here as every now and then men and women appear at the roads edge with bundle of wood. Collected from the jungle all around. They are neatly stacked at the road side or by the homes in uniform stacks between stakes. Each piece exactly the same length. Very precise considering that the native knife, which is carried in its sheath tucked into the rear waistband ready for its daily use, is what is used to fell the up to 150mm thin logs.
The hotel in Louang Prabang has elaborate shiny stainless steel bars on all windows. I’m not sure if this is a reflection of Laos or the fact that over the road are the National head quarters of the police? We find that whilst we are greeted warmly by children, the adults are indifferent and just stare. 
they come across as cold and unwelcoming. The red dust that coats the homes is unbelievable. Hundreds of trucks and cars thunder past the homes and villages coating everything in their path. I don’t expect that they had much choice in the matter. But we feel that their lives are being intruded upon and ruined for the sake of “progress”.
Dinner by the river and more of the stunning sunsets.
1st April Muagxay.
More hills, which are even more step and windy than before. Along the way we encounter a truck that has left the road and tipped upside down over the edge. It’s not the first and I don’t expect it to be the last.
This is a poor country, naive about its future and its relationship with China. We witness huge roading projects with row upon row of plant in yards waiting to perform their task. concrete mixers, front end loaders, graders. It’s a small boys dream. It is one of the biggest projects the world could see. Colloquially known as the ” belt and road project” a rail and reading system from Kunming in China though to Singapore. The wealth that is being poured into Laos is unbelievable. 
“And I’m not convinced that it will benefit the people. We sense a bully in the playground that has duped a small boy into giving up too many of his precious marbles or lunch, for a deal that isn’t fair, and lacks transparency!
The Mittaphab hotel aka the Friendship hotel, was once quite a grand place, with tiles, pillars and a large water feature out in front, now dry and long since used. 
I think we are the only guests, but are still placed in a room as far from the lifts as they can at the end of a marble tiled corridor. The rom is big and sparse, no decorations or much in the way of furniture except for the bed which is massive. I mean really massive it must be 4M x4M! And extraordinarily hard. The ‘concierge is behind the front desk leaning back on a chair watching his phone, with a pillow behind his head. Before dinner we look for an ATM. These are everywhere but don’t all work! We reluctantly think dinner might be a skewer or two for 20,000 kip. All that we have left after filling the car with fuel (500,000 Kip). luckily we persevere and end up walking some distance to find an ATM that works. In two days time we cross into China, where we have a guide who will be sitting in the car with us for the duration of our time in China. We rearrange the gear in the back to clear the seat for her. 6 boxes, 2 suitcases, a ports toilet, and fridge freezer, not to forget the 2 x 20 litre water drums. Quite a puzzle.
That evening we venture our for a meal. Being good people we feel we should support the hotel we stay at, and therefore the people. So over to the restaurant called “chill chill”. About 50 metres from the main hotel block. The staff however tell us no food and can’t help us or point in the right direction for food. So we leave an walk . Around the corner…….the back of the same restaurant! Is another restaurant which seems quite lively. Loud music and plenty of locals, must be good? so we ask for a menu and a table. The waiter is decidedly unhelpful and besides we can’t hear ourselves talk so we leave. We try two places before finding one with a menu of four choices. Each with a picture. A drink from the fridge and fresh food cooked immediately in front of us from the local establishment wins. At the end of the meal a calculator appears indicating what you owe. 47,000 Kip for two meals, two ‘beerLaos’, a juice and a large container of passion fruit pulp. A bargain. 
Fred is working well under some tough conditions. Driving him here is a real workout! The roads are built not engineered. No thought has been made for the hundreds of trucks that rumble and chunter up and down each day. Not to forget the cars and motorbikes. The cars in most cases are in good condition and quite modern. Mostly Prados’ , or Ford Rangers. The other trucks are old pickups and heavily laden trucks. The bikes are no lighter. It’s amazing what they load onto a bike, and how many people you can fit? A short 150km trip might take 3-4hours and is quite stressful.
“The land of here and now”! …..Laos has a past that they would like to forget. A past and culture that is ancient and would like to keep and maintain. They have not seen what we have seen in developed countries. They have not made the mistakes that we have made and learnt from them. So they can be excused for making the same mistakes, however the influence of the western world is having a huge negative impact on their world. Along the sides of the roads are littered quantities of plastic, thrown from the windows of passing cars and trucks. They have not realised, as we have, that the huge quantities of plastic that they consume don’t just go away, and don’t breakdown like the waste from a firewood collecting trip. It doesn’t breakdown like the by product of maise, or banana. At some point they will realise that the plastic bag that holds the plastic cup with its plastic lid, that has a hole for a plastic straw, could have been served in a bamboo cup, or in a washable multi use container. They are loving the financial benefits (so they are told) from Chinese investment. Whilst the majority are enjoying the here and now of the west, they have not considered the future and what that might look like if they continue in the same manner.
A stunning country, with stunning people, heading along a path like child being led from one sweet shop to the next?
I worry for them and their future. And hope that one day their leaders think about the people and are not lead by the sparkle of money.
Cleary Overland 