This is supposed to be the dry season, but we have had solid rain for 3 days and have hardly see the sun since arriving in Laos a week ago. However, we are fortunate as we are now staying in a good hotel, but the poor Laotian people are often living in shacks with no windows and just earth for the floor. There is incredible poverty here with 75% of the population surviving on less that £1.50 a day, mainly living hand to mouth off the land as subsistence farmers. Their Buddhist religion teaches karma rather than devotion, prayer or hard work and education is not highly valued, and can be dropped at age 13. They are often married by 15 and have at least 2 children before age 20, which is an insurance for their old age.

Their main vice is alcohol, either Beer-Lao or low-low which is a rice whisky that we sampled today in a village. Today’s pics are of a lady preparing fish to barbecue, and of grilled rats for sale in a local market, which we didn’t sample!

With better weather expected tomorrow we travel to Nong Khiau on the Nam Ou river, previously enjoyed by my sister Pip and Martin.