WHERE THE MEKONG spreads into Cambodia, the spine of land which separates Vietnam from Thailand. The people and food and culture show influences of both, and as you leave the plains, there are mountain people who show no signs of either.
Monks descend the stairs of Wat Phu (Vat Phou) in Champasak province.
Wat Phu is the largest Khmer temple in Laos, and was a Hindu temple, rather than Buddhist.
It was dedicated to Shiva, although later used as a Buddhist temple, which it remains today.
Nearby was the ancient city of Shrestapura, part of the Chenla and Champa kingdoms in the 5th century, but part of the Khmer Empire from the 10th century. Wat Phu is 11th century.
The temple is south of Pakse, just near the Mekong river, before it enters Cambodia.
Grandma minds the kid, while Mum works the farm.
Few bridges span the Mekong even today. (The first Thai-Laos Friendship bridge, near Vientianne, opened in 1994.) Passengers cross by punt.
A girl shops in the Pakse market. The basket on her right is for sticky rice, an essential part of Laos food.
A lady waits for tobacco buyers.
A bowl of noodle soup in the market.
Frog satay, Pakse market.
Salavan is a small town inland, near the far south of Laos. Women in this village are pounding grain.
The town and province of Salavan is on the Bolaven plateau, which takes its name from the Laven ethnic group. These days, there is a mix of Mon-Khmer, lowland Laos and other ethnic groups. This is the local school teacher in a village nearby.
Laos cuisine relies heavily on sticky rice, which is dipped in sour soups, or eaten with spicy salads.
A young girl in Salavan province, appears to have a tobacco pipe. I hope she doesn't inhale.
A couple of dears have a laugh as they make roofing.
While the Indonesian word "sarong" becomes more common around the world, the Lao woven skirt is called "sinh".
A truck head up to the Bolaven plateau, an agricultural area which produces lots of coffee and tobacco. I wasn't on that bus, bus rode one just like it up.
Pigs and chickens rove for the scraps, as the village women pound grain.
It took some coaxing to get her to smile, but it was worth it in the end.
In the thin strip of central Laos between the Mekong (Thailand) and the mountains (Vietnam), a tuk tuk heads home for the day.
Tha Kek was the first place I went to in Laos, a sleepy town in a sleepy country. I hired a mountain bike and cycled east for a day.
I was glad I was cycling rather than riding that bus, but I did have to do some pennance on Laos transport, too.
Another happy farmer.
A rickety wooden bridge spans a tributary of the Mekong.
Plastic replaces the wicker baskets, but the bamboo pole technique survives.
Village girls stare.
Fresh vegetables in Savannakhet.
Laos PDR army soldiers sitting around doing nothing.
On the outskirts of Savannakhet, city soon gives way to country.
Some of the scenery I enjoyed on my bike ride.
It's been almost 20 years since I visited Laos. Change will have come to many places, but I am confident quiet places like these remain the same.
Man rolls up a fat boy in the market.
I'd like to say mother, but the grey hair makes me think grannie and baby.
A long time ago, before X-box and smartphones, kids in the west used to make their own fun too.
A bunch of goofy school kids.
Chilli and other vegetables in the market. Laos food is not nearly as well known as Thai, but shares many similarities and dishes with Isaan Thai cuisine.
In the bus terminal, a school age girl makes a living selling boiled eggs.