Let's continue with the sixth stop on my digital nomad journey: Laos.
We left from Kunming, China, on a train that took us straight to Luang Prabang, crossing two customs checkpoints, one on the way out and one on the way in.
Before leaving, I had researched what to expect from Laos and the various recommended itineraries. I immediately read discouraging news: the internet connection, according to the articles we read, seemed to be of very poor quality, both via wi-fi and sim card.
For digital nomads like us, good internet access is essential, so much so that we think if it was worth visiting Laos or not. However, we decided to go anyway, with the idea of quickly changing destination if the connection turned out to be an insurmountable problem.
But surprise! In Laos, the quality of the internet was one of the best I have found so far, both thanks to the SIM card and the hotel. A great discovery!
Initially, I had few expectations about the country in general. Friends who had been there before us had not been impressed, but Luang Prabang enchanted us to the point of extending our stay from 5 to 8 days.
The weather was also an accomplice in this extension. It was not always perfect, with some days not too sunny and a little too cool. And we absolutely wanted to visit the spectacular Kuang Si waterfalls: tall, imposing, and absolutely majestic.
A true spectacle of nature, one that leaves you completely speechless.
The other side of the coin, however, is that during our travels I noticed how the level of poverty in Laos is much more evident than in Thailand. Wooden or sheet metal houses dot the streets, giving the impression of taking a dip into the past, in an Asia that was less developed than the one we know today.
Luckily, even though it is not a particularly cutting-edge nation, the excellent connection allowed me to work without a hitch, even in that pre-Christmas period full of closing calls and year-end recaps.
It was during my stay in Luang Prabang, that I started a new collaboration for a special project: the Nomad Summit, an event dedicated to digital nomads - the most iconic in the world, to tell the truth - that will be held in Chiang Mai in January. Unfortunately, with our heavy hearts, we will not be able to go because moving around Laos is complicated and time-consuming and, with the limitations of the Christmas period, finding accommodation had become a real challenge.
After much reflection, we decided to skip Chiang Mai and the Nomad Summit, continuing our journey to Cambodia. The next stop will be Vietnam, a destination that promises to be a true paradise for digital nomads like us.
Laos, in the end, was a wonderful country but it left me with a hint of bitterness due to the logistical difficulties and its evident state of poverty. Despite this, the journey continues, and with it the thousand questions that crowd my mind:
- How much longer do I want to continue traveling?
- When we return to Italy, where will we go?
- How will we move in the future?
I know that the answers will come with time. For now, I enjoy every moment of this extraordinary adventure.
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