Savannakhet, Lao PDR

A small trip over the Mekong and one finds himself in the wonderful world called The People's Democratic Republic of Laos. Usually countries that announce rather unsubtle that they consider themselves a democracy are also the ones where one wouldn't want to brush against the hairs of the local police or other governmental institutions. And the well known red flag of China seems to be as present as the Lao flag at most official buildings. But aside from the 12 o'clock curfew and the absence of pool tables this is indeed a very democratic place to spend time in. Prices for food and accommodation are very reasonable for Asian standards, not to say that I start to think of Thailand as expensive... And ah yes, why is it again that I like the French occasionally? Is it because they have good wines? Probably. Is it because they speak in such passionate terms of their great nation? Maybe. But most certainly it is because they have spread the joys of baking baguettes and stuffing them with fresh and delicious foods that make me praise them. (Mind you, I never praise them when they are around, they might start to glow in the dark with pride, and in this parts of the world any source of light attracts mosquitoes which I'd rather not encounter...)
And as in any Asian country where the middle classes are slowly growing and people are allowed to move around, the motorbike is one of the most commonly used means of transportation. Unfortunately it is also one that is mostly involved in not so innocent accidents. The fact that the cops are more interested in getting tea money when they stop you than in checking your drivers license doesn't really help, and as such people around here start driving the motorbike as soon as they are able to get their legs on the gas and brake pedals. It seems like a motorbike is considered to be both a car and a bicycle around here, for the number of people traveling on one can extend to a small Laotian family unit, which typically consists of mum and dad with a total of three kids wrapped around the steering wheel (typically the youngest one, say anything from 17 months to 3 years old) or pressed between the parents. Five people is what we would prop together in a car in some parts of the world. Then again, the age for driving a motorbike seems to be the same as the age for driving a bike, and the same for the knowledge of traffic. Luckily these people have the good Buddha on their side and where total chaos would be ensured in say Belgium around here there is neither the right amount of traffic nor the right amount of stress to get people to crash into each other. Still the number of accidents is a bit high. Just like myself I get the feeling most people around here haven't figured out yet when to give right of way and as such I've witnessed a few motorbikes crushed under the new and ever more present 4x4 trucks in the middle of a crossroads. I do hope that sooner rather than later either the traffic lights will be enforced on people (Actually I was one of the mischievous fellas ignoring it today and as luck would have it a cop popped out of nowhere and sure enough the law had to be enforced specifically at the time I drove trough the red light. All in all damage was controlled by my bright smile and the lack of English on the law's behalf. 20.000 Kip is what seems to make paperwork disappear around here, and considering that this comes down to less than 2 euros one might feel thankful for once that not only the food and accommodation are democratic, but also the local salaries. 2 euros means three days of work to some cops, of course only if they would not use their cunning knowledge of the law to get some butter for on their baguette. I can't blame them for being creative while enforcing the law, as all in all it seems things work perfectly well in this country. And one never feels unsafe either, thanks to the thousand smiles of the people here.