Laos
What a great trip! I got back from Laos yesterday. It is a stunningly beautiful country. I flew in to Luang Prabang on Friday afternoon. Getting my visa was a simple process just as it was in Cambodia. Thirty bucks, a picture and a short wait in line did the trick. As promised, I was picked up at the airport and whisked to my guest house on the River Khan side of the city. For those who, like me, have no idea about the geography of Laos, Luang Prabang is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Khan and the Mekong. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage site a few years back. The good part is that all the renovation and new building must be in character with the existing architecture. The bad part is that it gets more visitors than it used to.
This time was even more crowded than usual due to the ASEAN conference being held in Vientiane, the capitol of Laos. The ASEAN Summit conferences are rotated among the member nations and this time it was Laos turn to host the 10th such conference. Talk about a diverse group of nations... First of all there is Burma, the incredibly corrupt and repressive military dictatorship. Then you have Brunei which is a Muslim Monarchy. There are two communist countries, Vietnam and Laos. Six 'democracies'; Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand round out the group. Democracies is in quotes here since in three of the countries only one party has ever won and in the other three countries democracy is always a tenuous situation.
Why did that affect me you may ask?? Being a communist dictatorship (yes, the Pathet Lao are still in charge), they were easily able to seal the border and limit access to Vientiane. Hundreds of travelers were forced to scramble to change their travel plans at the list minute. Hotel reservations were terminated, airline tickets invalidated etc. Many travelers changed their itineraries so that they went first to Luang Prabang then later to Vientiane. There were far more farang than I had expected. It was a bit comical and I think the Lao people were a bit surprised by the numbers.
I had done some reading about Luang Prabang and had a few things in mind to do. When I saw the number of farang, I switched gears. I wandered the streets for the first afternoon and evening to get a feel for the town. Thinking back on your history lessons, you will no doubt remember that Laos was a part of French Indochina. There is still a huge leftover French influence starting with the architecture. Luang Prabang is filled with charming French provincial buildings in varying stages of disrepair. Interspersed among the colonial villas are examples of traditional Lao and SE Asian style buildings. It is easy to spend many hours just wandering the streets. The people are welcoming and friendly with quick smiles. In most cases as you walk by you can look inside their homes since the doors and windows are wide open at this time of the year. Speaking of weather, what a welcome relief from sweltering Bangkok. I was actually a bit chilly at night. If I had stayed any longer, I would have had to buy a jacket or sweater. At one point I sat beside the Mekong and watched the boats float by while I sipped an excellent Beer Lao. What a pleasant way to spend an hour it was.
A bit later I stumbled upon what was to by my 'find' of the trip. I was walking along the main street and saw a place called White Elephant Adventure Tours. I looked through their brochure and saw something about a day trip in LP with a guide. I went up the stairs to an open air shop and waited my turn. The proprietor finished with a young Swedish couple and it was my turn. We talked for about 15 minutes about my desire to avoid tourist traps and places with too many farang. I described an ideal trip to him and he thought for a few minutes and told me that he thought he could help me. They employed a guide who was Hmong and taught English. It just so happened that the next day was Saturday and he would be available. I could hardly believe my luck! He was to take me to the hills to visit many small villages where there would be very few farang. Little did I know how special my 'tour' would be.
A bit about White Elephant Adventure Tours is in order. The owner is an amiable youngish Canadian, Derek Beattie who is originally from London, Ontario. He has been in Laos for about 4 months building his business. They don't yet have a website but anyone going to LP, please let me know and I'll give you his email address. I couldn't have asked for better service and it doesn't hurt that he, of course, speaks English.
I was to meet my guide at the office the following morning at 8:30. I arrived bright and early ready to go. Being Asia, things were naturally running a bit behind so I had a chance to visit with the Swedish couple. We talked about hockey and Peter Forsberg and how happy the Swedish people are that the children can see him play at least one season over there. They were going for a two day trek in the backcountry which I am sure was great fun. After a short delay, I met my guide. His name is Hai O. We then walked around the corner to our tuk tuk. I climbed aboard and we set off on our adventure. I had a wee bit of trepidation as we started since the tuk tuk was emitting vast clouds of blue smoke, much of which was being sucked back into the tuk tuk. I had visions of a massive headache and being jolted and jostled all day. Just as I was about to suggest that we find another tuk tuk, the blue smoke vanished and I breathed a sigh of relief. First we had to make a quick stop on the way at the driver's house so he could drop something off then we were on our way.
We drove along an increasingly picturesque dirt track for about 30 minutes before we reached a small village. Our first stop was a Lao village where my guide, Hai O, currently teaches English. As we got out of the tuk tuk, he was greeted by many of his students and I was examined closely. When I found some appropriately cute children and asked if I could take their picture, I was besieged with requests for more pictures. Many Thai words are either the same as Lao words or are recognizable by Lao people. The words for 'take picture', 'thay ruup', are apparently the same in both languages. Within minutes after asking the first children if I could 'thay ruup', I was followed by a flock of children chanting the magic words 'thay ruup'. The flock varied between 10 and 30 small children as I wandered through the village with Hai O. It seemed that all children here loved seeing their pictures after took them. Digital cameras rule! None of these children, nor any other children I saw on Saturday even knew who Santa Claus is, so sorry to disappoint on that score.
First village, no farang seen. But wait! On the way out another tuk tuk passed with two young farang women. Hai O was amazed. He had never seen a farang in that village. We went on deeper into the mountains and farther from Luang Prabang. It was absolutely gorgeous. We were definitely in the mountains and the hillsides were covered with dense foliage that does NOT grow in Colorado. Jungle? I'm not sure of the definition of jungle, but the area around Luang Prabang might qualify. We climbed higher and higher and it was here that my next concern about our tuk tuk was raised. We stalled and the driver could not get it in gear. YIKES!!! After about 10 minutes he forced it in gear and we roared on. I was relieved that my adventure could continue as planned. Our next stop was the village that Hai O lives in now. Though he is Hmong, he has moved from his Hmong village down the mountain a bit to a Lao village in part because he teaches down the mountain and in part because he will be continuing his education in LP and the Hmong village is just too far to commute from. This village is known for growing watercress which is often used in salads here. As we wandered through the village, Hai O was greeted by many friends and acquaintances. He has also taught in this village and is well known. Here I received my first surprise, many of the homes had satellite dishes. Although farang do not venture to this village, their culture does. Traditional Lao homes are built on stilts so that during the rainy season they can stay dry. Beneath the bamboo and wood floors is more living area. This area is typically used for storage of things that don't get ruined if they get wet. Additionally the cooking area is typically on the ground in a thatched hut attached to the main building.
Hai O took me to his home where I met his wife, three children and nephew. After his village, we stopped at one or two more small villages on our way to the end of the road and the Hmong village. At the end of the long road, the Hmong had established their village in an idyllic setting. Surrounded on three sides (can you be surrounded on three sides?), by mountains and limestone cliffs the village made me feel at peace with the world. Abundant water was supplied by a spring just outside the perimeter of the village. Perhaps 100 families live in this village currently. They have electricity and even here a few homes had the dreaded satellite dishes. Hai O led me to believe that although many of the Hmong had seen farang on trips down the mountain, few if any other farang had actually come to this village at the end of the road. By the way, since seeing the two young women in the tuk tuk outside the first village, I had not seen any others. This was the Laos I had been hoping to see.
He introduced me to many of his relatives and took me on a long walk through the village where I of course took many pictures. I'll leave you here and resume tomorrow!
This time was even more crowded than usual due to the ASEAN conference being held in Vientiane, the capitol of Laos. The ASEAN Summit conferences are rotated among the member nations and this time it was Laos turn to host the 10th such conference. Talk about a diverse group of nations... First of all there is Burma, the incredibly corrupt and repressive military dictatorship. Then you have Brunei which is a Muslim Monarchy. There are two communist countries, Vietnam and Laos. Six 'democracies'; Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand round out the group. Democracies is in quotes here since in three of the countries only one party has ever won and in the other three countries democracy is always a tenuous situation.
Why did that affect me you may ask?? Being a communist dictatorship (yes, the Pathet Lao are still in charge), they were easily able to seal the border and limit access to Vientiane. Hundreds of travelers were forced to scramble to change their travel plans at the list minute. Hotel reservations were terminated, airline tickets invalidated etc. Many travelers changed their itineraries so that they went first to Luang Prabang then later to Vientiane. There were far more farang than I had expected. It was a bit comical and I think the Lao people were a bit surprised by the numbers.
I had done some reading about Luang Prabang and had a few things in mind to do. When I saw the number of farang, I switched gears. I wandered the streets for the first afternoon and evening to get a feel for the town. Thinking back on your history lessons, you will no doubt remember that Laos was a part of French Indochina. There is still a huge leftover French influence starting with the architecture. Luang Prabang is filled with charming French provincial buildings in varying stages of disrepair. Interspersed among the colonial villas are examples of traditional Lao and SE Asian style buildings. It is easy to spend many hours just wandering the streets. The people are welcoming and friendly with quick smiles. In most cases as you walk by you can look inside their homes since the doors and windows are wide open at this time of the year. Speaking of weather, what a welcome relief from sweltering Bangkok. I was actually a bit chilly at night. If I had stayed any longer, I would have had to buy a jacket or sweater. At one point I sat beside the Mekong and watched the boats float by while I sipped an excellent Beer Lao. What a pleasant way to spend an hour it was.
A bit later I stumbled upon what was to by my 'find' of the trip. I was walking along the main street and saw a place called White Elephant Adventure Tours. I looked through their brochure and saw something about a day trip in LP with a guide. I went up the stairs to an open air shop and waited my turn. The proprietor finished with a young Swedish couple and it was my turn. We talked for about 15 minutes about my desire to avoid tourist traps and places with too many farang. I described an ideal trip to him and he thought for a few minutes and told me that he thought he could help me. They employed a guide who was Hmong and taught English. It just so happened that the next day was Saturday and he would be available. I could hardly believe my luck! He was to take me to the hills to visit many small villages where there would be very few farang. Little did I know how special my 'tour' would be.
A bit about White Elephant Adventure Tours is in order. The owner is an amiable youngish Canadian, Derek Beattie who is originally from London, Ontario. He has been in Laos for about 4 months building his business. They don't yet have a website but anyone going to LP, please let me know and I'll give you his email address. I couldn't have asked for better service and it doesn't hurt that he, of course, speaks English.
I was to meet my guide at the office the following morning at 8:30. I arrived bright and early ready to go. Being Asia, things were naturally running a bit behind so I had a chance to visit with the Swedish couple. We talked about hockey and Peter Forsberg and how happy the Swedish people are that the children can see him play at least one season over there. They were going for a two day trek in the backcountry which I am sure was great fun. After a short delay, I met my guide. His name is Hai O. We then walked around the corner to our tuk tuk. I climbed aboard and we set off on our adventure. I had a wee bit of trepidation as we started since the tuk tuk was emitting vast clouds of blue smoke, much of which was being sucked back into the tuk tuk. I had visions of a massive headache and being jolted and jostled all day. Just as I was about to suggest that we find another tuk tuk, the blue smoke vanished and I breathed a sigh of relief. First we had to make a quick stop on the way at the driver's house so he could drop something off then we were on our way.
We drove along an increasingly picturesque dirt track for about 30 minutes before we reached a small village. Our first stop was a Lao village where my guide, Hai O, currently teaches English. As we got out of the tuk tuk, he was greeted by many of his students and I was examined closely. When I found some appropriately cute children and asked if I could take their picture, I was besieged with requests for more pictures. Many Thai words are either the same as Lao words or are recognizable by Lao people. The words for 'take picture', 'thay ruup', are apparently the same in both languages. Within minutes after asking the first children if I could 'thay ruup', I was followed by a flock of children chanting the magic words 'thay ruup'. The flock varied between 10 and 30 small children as I wandered through the village with Hai O. It seemed that all children here loved seeing their pictures after took them. Digital cameras rule! None of these children, nor any other children I saw on Saturday even knew who Santa Claus is, so sorry to disappoint on that score.
First village, no farang seen. But wait! On the way out another tuk tuk passed with two young farang women. Hai O was amazed. He had never seen a farang in that village. We went on deeper into the mountains and farther from Luang Prabang. It was absolutely gorgeous. We were definitely in the mountains and the hillsides were covered with dense foliage that does NOT grow in Colorado. Jungle? I'm not sure of the definition of jungle, but the area around Luang Prabang might qualify. We climbed higher and higher and it was here that my next concern about our tuk tuk was raised. We stalled and the driver could not get it in gear. YIKES!!! After about 10 minutes he forced it in gear and we roared on. I was relieved that my adventure could continue as planned. Our next stop was the village that Hai O lives in now. Though he is Hmong, he has moved from his Hmong village down the mountain a bit to a Lao village in part because he teaches down the mountain and in part because he will be continuing his education in LP and the Hmong village is just too far to commute from. This village is known for growing watercress which is often used in salads here. As we wandered through the village, Hai O was greeted by many friends and acquaintances. He has also taught in this village and is well known. Here I received my first surprise, many of the homes had satellite dishes. Although farang do not venture to this village, their culture does. Traditional Lao homes are built on stilts so that during the rainy season they can stay dry. Beneath the bamboo and wood floors is more living area. This area is typically used for storage of things that don't get ruined if they get wet. Additionally the cooking area is typically on the ground in a thatched hut attached to the main building.
Hai O took me to his home where I met his wife, three children and nephew. After his village, we stopped at one or two more small villages on our way to the end of the road and the Hmong village. At the end of the long road, the Hmong had established their village in an idyllic setting. Surrounded on three sides (can you be surrounded on three sides?), by mountains and limestone cliffs the village made me feel at peace with the world. Abundant water was supplied by a spring just outside the perimeter of the village. Perhaps 100 families live in this village currently. They have electricity and even here a few homes had the dreaded satellite dishes. Hai O led me to believe that although many of the Hmong had seen farang on trips down the mountain, few if any other farang had actually come to this village at the end of the road. By the way, since seeing the two young women in the tuk tuk outside the first village, I had not seen any others. This was the Laos I had been hoping to see.
He introduced me to many of his relatives and took me on a long walk through the village where I of course took many pictures. I'll leave you here and resume tomorrow!