2011-11-14
Although it doesn't look like it would be difficult on paper, getting to Laos overland from Sapa is no easy task and apparently wasn't even possible until a couple of years ago. It requires taking a ten hour bus to Dien Bien Phu, then a three hour bus across the border, a ferry across a river, and then another four hour bus to the main transport hub town, Udomxai, where you can finally catch a bus to the town you really want to go to.
Anyway, this scenario meant that we had to spend the night in Dien Bien Phu, which actually turned out to be fairly nice town. The town in the foreground, mountains in the distance, and flatlands in between reminded me a bit of the American west. I met a French guy and a Swiss guy on the bus who we ended up traveling with for the next few days.