Sunday, June 14, 2009

3-5 June – Laos to Vietnam

We continued towards Vietnam via the old tombs of Sua Hin, believed to be more than 1000 years old.
After a quick stop in Vieng Xai, we approached the Vietnamese border at Na Meo. The whole situation felt very uncertain. Going back was not an option. We had to get through somehow.
The Vietnamese border police and customs did their best to block the dangerous Swedish family from entering Vietnam. They refused to believe that Swedish citizens can enter Vietnam without a visa. They refused to let us enter with our car.
After a completely Kafkaesque experience, and close to six hours of fierce argumentation, we were finally allowed into Vietnam. It felt great! We had promised our friends in Hanoi that we would arrive on the 5th. It looked like we would make it!
The drive from Na Meo to Hanoi was mountainous and very beautiful. Different hill tribes still live in the remote areas. They seem to be able to make just about anything from bamboo which grows everywhere.
Further down in the valleys, the rice harvesting was in full swing.

1 comment:

Gunnar said...

Hej familjen Ringdahl, vilken resa genom Laos ni gjort! Och kul att ni trivdes i Laos! Vi tyckte det var roligt att träffa er i KL, och har berättat för många om er fantastiska resa.

Jag var i Vientiane förra veckan och hyrde bl a hus år oss, vi flyttar dit för 2 år med start i augusti. Då kanske vi också skakar igång vår Laos-blogg igen, vi får se. Kan ju ändå skicka er länken, så som den såg ut när vi flyttade hem förra gången: http://lindhilaos.blogspot.com/
Våra kontaktuppgifter där håller vi aktuella.

Lycka till med finalen på er resa!

Gunnar Lindh