Laos

 An average country with extremely low population and a wonderful train line to China. More people live in Andheri (a suburb of Bombay) than in Laos. 

The geography of Laos is quite tricky; it has a lot of mountains and not enough agricultural land. This hasn't allowed population to settle in this part of the world since thousands of years, and whatever population lives here, they live along the Mekong River. 

I also found Laos to be one of the "not so clean" countries of South East Asia. We visited 2 cities, and both were pretty sparsely populated. Vientiane, their capital, is considered to be the most boring capital city on the planet. However, I did see that they have 30% of their cars, being EV cars, manufactured in China. The 2nd city, Luang Prabang is a very cosy city and quite popular with the locals & western tourists.

Few photos of Wat Sisaket. As we kept coming closer and closer to Thailand, the temples looked very much like the temples of Thailand. 

Patuxai - Victory Monument of Laos. 

Location: Victory Monument

One can climb at the top for views.

We got caught in a rainstorm and were hiding in a temple. Clicked some photos and they came out to be lovely.

If you get a chance, please visit the COPE Visitor Centre in Vientiane. This shows the impact of the bombs dropped by the US army on the people of Cambodia. These days, China has had an impact on the growth of Laos. You can see that from the number of EV cars, railways and roads being built by the Chinese without dropping bombs in Laos.

Location: COPE Centre

The Vientiane Railway Station. It's an absolutely mammoth of a building 

...and off we went to Luang Prabang.

The train goes to Kunming in Southern China.

Luang Prabang's a nice small charming town, with lots of European Tourists visiting the city. 

Nam Khan River meets the mighty Mekong River here.

The temples here are very pretty. Wat Xiengthong has many temples in the complex and it is worth visiting.

Location: Wat Xiengthong Temple Location

Hire a scooter, and do visit the Tat Sae Waterfalls. It's about 20 kms from the city. 

Location: Waterfalls

I do suggest to have a nice dinner along the Mekong River. Do take your mosquito spray, to avoid the army of mosquitoes attacking you.

It's also worth visiting the Royal Palace and Museum. The palace is average from outside, however there are a few things to see from the inside, tea cups and chairs. I liked the garden though.

Location: Royal Palace and Museum

We also went on a river cruise on the Mekong River. This probably was the most boring experience of my life. I am not in my 20s anymore, I don't seek adventure in every walk of my life; but this was so sad and so boring, that the most existing thing was to "wave at other boats!".

The Two Wheels of Sài Gòn

When one arrives in Sài Gòn (aka Ho Chi Minh City), the first thing that pops out is the sheer number of scooters that city has. If the city has 10 million people living within its boundaries, I believe there are at least 5 million scooters. They are everywhere! They are about 20 to 1 ratio with respect to car numbers.

They deliver food, transport people, took us from A to B, drive on footpaths and they will "almost kill you" at least once everyday whilst crossing the street.  

The picture above is from our first day here and the sound of scooters was overwhelming. The smoke of all the two wheelers will force you to wear your N95 mask and the toot-toot & beep-beep will force you to plug your fingers in your ears! Mad!  

Even in the little alleyways, all we see are the scooters & flags of Viet Nam!

These scooters are considered small vans in Viet Nam. We saw one guy transferring a washing machine on a scooter. 

And another guy (probably a gardener), transferring a lawn-mower on his scooter. 

The guys on Grab were brilliant though. One could get stuck in traffic for long, but the Grab guys always had their way around everything. Buses, trucks, other scooters and cars, just make sure you have built your heart of steel.

We did get stuck in the 31st December traffic, but everyone was stuck, so no worries & smile at the camera! :-) 

And on the motorways, the scooter traffic keeps itself away from the main car traffic. The city has different lanes for scooters in the central town area too. 

Here we are trying to go through two buses! Not for the faint hearted! 

There can be times when walking could be quicker than the scooters!

We did find some cool bicycles around the city too. This name sounds familiar, however shouldn't it be called "X.com" now? 

And some cool Italian bicycles too.