Today we got a couple of 100cc Honda Wave manual motorbikes, put a kid on the back of each one and drove through the rush hour in Luang Prabang weaving in between the tuk tuks, minivans, bicycles, people and a myriad of other motorbikes coming from all directions and all sides of the road! There does not seem to be too many road rules here and they also generally drive on the right hand side. It was great to be in the thick of the hustle & bustle of motorbike mania!
We came through in one piece and then headed for a couple of hours drive into the jungle passing through the improverished villages. The villagers live a simple life and do not have much in the way of material possessions, generally a 1-2 room rudimentary hut with a charcoal or gas cooker being the centre piece of the house and the place where all interactions take place. Young kids are outside playing with the stray cats/dogs or riding with 3-4 on a bicycle. We see a lot of Mothers on roadside stalls selling fruit and green leafy veges, often a baby is lying on a sack under an umbrella behind the stall. We do notice a lot of schools scattered throughout the jungle, so that's a good sign that they are getting an education at primary school level.
We also come across water buffalo, stray dogs and chickens on the sides of the road that we needed to motor around. The jungle was lush with lots of banana trees and rice paddy fields. The road was filled with pot holes so we got quite a jolt when too busy looking at the scenery and not noticing a big hole in the road! The bridges were very basic, built with planks of timber going in different directions, the drivers thought nothing of passing on blind corners, and passing with a vehicle approaching in the other direction - making the narrow road suddenly 3-4 lanes.
We had a great experience motorbiking around, and felt a real sense of freedom and adventure, just us and the rural countryside.
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