LAOS | Sunday, 30 June 2013 | Views [300] | View Larger Image
Hanging off the back of a truck with my camera around my neck gave me the best vantage point for this particular drive. Clinging to the support bars with the wind rushing across my face, I was amazed with what I was seeing. We were travelling from the small, one-road town of Bah Nahin to our destination of the Konglor Caves. The pick up truck was full of my travel companions plus the occasional local jumping on board for the ride with their sacks of produce and baskets of live ducks in tow – it seemed we had hitched a ride with the local taxi. As we drove between the dramatic limestone mountains encircling the valleys, we passed countless shacks and huts that made up the rural communities of Laos. This for me was the most authentic Asian experience I could have asked for. Farmers were plowing the fields with their cattle; wood was being gathered while the women were hanging out washing. As we passed the school, hordes of smiling children swarmed out to greet us. “Sa-bai-dee!!” they all shouted, running after the truck as we drove by. Further along our bumpy ride, we happened upon couple of elderly men sitting amongst some wood for what looked like fencing posts. As with everything that day I photographed it. Looking at this photo always reminds me of all of the necessary tasks that are usually just out of sight of my first world perspective.
