Inktrails

D1: What I am experiencing is incredible: nothing in the 9 kg of books, films and documentaries, nor even the accounts of those who have already been there, could have prepared me for such a shock.

D2: The city is very cute: the homogeneous architecture is made up of wooden structures and brick walls, all painted in yellow. I feel like I have gone back in time, to the 15th century.

D3: I expected a simple fishing course – stimulating, of course; not a profound journey into the roots of our Western consumption.

D5: We board a tiny barge, punted by a woman with a conical hat, and go through the coconut leaves-covered canal. A moment of absolute calm.

Vang Vieng, from party to ghost town 31 december 2012 8 o’clock departure from Vientiane direction Vang Vieng. During this 3-4 hour car drive, the landscape changes from really flat to small sharp-edged mountains. Villages are tiny and rather unpopulated; our new guide explains with his vague English that even though they are connected to power they do not have running water, and do not need it because of the numerous mountain streams. Nam Ngum artificial lake We follow a gigantic artificial lake for a while, superb with its thousands islands until I learn that it used to be a …