In 2021, a joint project by the Chinese and Laos governments (mostly, I suspect the Chinese...) saw the launch of the Laos China Railway, an ambitious project to slash travelling time between Kunming in China and Vientiane in Laos. (Ultimate goal is on into Thailand, but as they've overlooked differences in rail gauges, it remains for now a dream)
Once we'd heard about this, and the fact that it cut the travel time from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang from a bone crushing, soul sapping six and a half hours by minibus to a mere one and a quarter hours, we were sold.
As luck would have it, the only remaining tickets were for train number C84, First Class!
Entering the railway station, we were met by security measures only seen in the most draconian of airports.
Passport checks, ( we were travelling within the same country), bodyscans whilst inexplicably standing on a podium (?), and luggage x-rayed.
All to no avail, I passed through with not one, but two pairs of scissors.
JB unfortunately lost his penknife to the Oriental Overlords.
The train itself was sleek, and first class was of a standard I imagine is the norm for Party Officials and close relatives of Xi Jinping.
As for the journey, it was largely through tunnels, so visually similar to our caving experiences.
Arriving at Luang Prabang station, we were overjoyed to learn that, conveniently, the Chinese had placed the railway station a paltry 30 minute drive from the town centre.
Nonetheless, we're here, in Luang Prabang (UNESCO site) .
More tomorrow.....
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