Back to the Basics

---

Hello one and all! Long time no talk - sorry for the lack of communication, Patrick and I have been internet-less for quite some time. The lack of e-mail has been one of the many differences we have noticed between Laos and Vietnam.

We emerged from the plane from Hanoi into a land of calm, quiet, and beauty. Luang Prapang, the 2nd or 3rd largest town in Laos (at 26 000 ppl) is situated between two rivers, the Nam Ou, which runs from Northern Laos, and the Mekong, originating in China I believe. The surrounding area is a dense jungle of beautiful green colours and much wildlife, I am sure. However, the life in Luang Prapang isn't so wild. It is beautiful little town, with tidy streets and shops and welcoming restaurants lined along the Mekong. It is extremely orderly compared with other cities we have seen so far, this is partly to do with the fact that there is almost no traffic. At night, a few of the streets are closed off entirely and street vendors set up a with night markets of textiles, jewellery, books and food. It is the ancient capital of Laos and was first established as a kingdom in 1353. Many streets have beautiful Laos style Wats lining them, with many young novice monks cloaked in their vibrant orange robes. We have yet to witness the morning alms giving ceremony, but hope to in the coming weeks. We spent our couple days in L. Prabang mostly lounging around, due to both the constant rain and our fatigue after Vietnam. There is a quote that goes "The Vietnamese plant rice, the Cambodians watch it grow, and the Laos listen to it grow." This definitely seems to be true from our brief experience. Where as the Vietnamese are industrius, driven, opportunistic the Laos are calm, somewhat lazy, and more interested in chatting or watching tv than taking our money for accommodation. I guess I shouldn't say lazy, as that is our cultural view; apparently the Laos believe that people should have fun, relax, and enjoy-themselves... something I think us N. Americans could take a lesson in 😉

We were initially very struck by how hassle-free Laos is; people may make one or two attempts to sell you textiles or engage you in a cab ride, but the attempts seem half-hearted at that. Speaking of cab rides, Laos has these delightful little automobiles called 'tuk-tuks', which is like a tricyle motorbike with a box in the back with two rows of bench seats. Alternatively, you can ride in pick-ups with the same layout in the box; this is one of the common modes of public transport, and definitely Patrick and my fave. It is lovely to sit in the open air box where you usually have enough leg room, and glimpse out of the sides at the stunning Laos scenery. Laos indeed is beauitful, and very untouched.

Following our two days in Luang Prabang, we took a bus ride, then a boat ride, up to Muang Ngoi Neau, a village located on the Nam Ou river which can only be reached by boat. When you are there, you feel like you are in the midst of the jungle (because you really are), and it brings to mind all childhood adventures like Tarzan and The Jungle Book. Muang Ngoi was quite a small village with only one main street, which consisted mostly of guesthouses, restaurants, a pharmacy, and a couple general stores. The street was made of dirt and was quite muddy when we were there becuase of the rain Laos had been receiving. And chickens everywhere! I think that perhaps could be the national symbol of Laos. Apparently the chickens are good to have as they were introduced to help the poor receive more protein in their diets. That is one more thing about Laos, it is an incredibly poor country. We have been to some villages where I don't think they have every learned about basic hygience or medical care ie. if a foot is cut perhaps it would be better to clean it first before bandaging it dirty in a dirty rag. It really makes one realize how fortunate we are in the western world, and how a little bit of education here would go a long way. But back to Muang Ngoi.... our first experience in the city wasn't the greatest, for our first evening there we had a night visitor in the form of, you guessed it, rats. Patrick and I woke up around 10 pm to the sound of scurrying, and upon switching on our head lamps, were astonished to see the rat on a beam only a few feet above our heads! The rat must have been stunned by the light, as after a few seconds it fell down... right onto our bed!!! Luckily however, we were safe in our Mosquito Net ( the thing has really come in handy!), and the rat qiuckly ran under the bed. We saw no more rats that night, however we heard them partying often, and it comes as no surprise that the next morning, after a night of restless sleep, we left our room for other "rat-free" accommodation. We quickly came to love the cat in our new guesthouse, as it looked quite full on rats.

On our second day in Muang Ngoi (our first was spent relaxing and drinking banana milk shakes) we hired a local man, Thuy, to take us on a boat adventure. First we visited some local villages, where one had a school sponsored by a high school in Richmond BC, then we were taken upstream to a cave. The cave was an interesting experience, as although we didn't encounter any bats, on the path to the cave we made friends with a number of leeches. I have never seen leeches before like this - they were all over the leaf - scattered ground, in the mud, all reaching up, trying to grab a hold of our feet. I was amazed at both our guide and his boat driver friend, as one was wearing only flip-flops, and the other no shoes at all! Shoes/sandals seem to be an un-necessary article in rural Laos. The cave was neat, although we couldn't see inside very well as 3 of the 4 flashlights were losing battery power. We travelled a few hundred meters down into the cave, passing through tight squeezes where we had to crawl downhill on our bellies, as well as underground rivers. In our failing light, we looked at all sorts of different rock formations, including one which reselmbeld rice spread over the ground. After the cave we went downstream and upon landing at a village, trekked an hour to a waterfall. The waterfall was probably the best experience of the day. We trekked past rice paddies, thru mud, and up streams (literally walking up through the streams) to reach it. The fall is prob about 40 feet high but is one of the most visually stunning i have seen. It is enclosed by jungle, with little pools leading down from it, and fallen logs lie across it, giving it a very wild effect. The path up was also neat as the rocks in the stream had been chipped away to create foot holds, and at one point we actually walked up a lower waterfall, as a stairwall had been chipped into the side of the fall. Very thrilling!

We have been quite surprised at the number of Canadians we have met in Laos.. I think we will meet more and more the further we travel West. In Muang Ngoi alone we met 3 or 4 canadians, and have seen another couple or so since. We gladly chatted about skiing and snow boarding, and Patrick and I got the customary greeting of "KElowwwwwna" and "ED-monton" from an Ontarioan (is that what one from Ontario is called? Je ne sais pas!).

Some i nteresting things we noticed , especially in the villages, is that boys take wearing pants very lightly, and more often than not you see them running around in nothing but their gaunch. Our guide, for example wore only his boxers for our entire day. I guess the innocence of it and the lack of caring is quite neat to see. The women and men and children all gather at the riverside, or the local watering area, before dinner, and then wash both clothes and themselves. It seems like a very fun social experience, and a time for great games for the kids. The women wear their sarongs when bathing, and the men their underwear, and the little ones of course go nude. Everyone sits around and chats and generally seems to have a good time.

Almost all parts of the housing is made from palm trees, from the woven flooring and siding to the thatched roofs. It makes a very lovely effect when the whole village is done in such a style.

Well that's all I can write for now... will complete another blog very soon. Take care and both Patrick and I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving 😊

---

Photos

Wat Xieng Thong
The most famous wat in Luang Prabang, constructed in 1560. The only wat the Chinese did not destroy when they captured L. Prabang in 1887.

Monk walking in the Luang Prabang Rain

Our bus to Nong Khaih
With a flat tire. Note the chillies drying on the side of the road.

Our boat to Muang Ngoi
Typical density in Lao public transport, not much room for legs.

Typical dinner setting in rural Laos
They are eating rice noodle soup with chicken.

Rural Lao School
This one was sponsored by a high school in Richmond, BC.

Our path to the waterfall
Notice the stairs cut into the face of the waterfall

Comments

[Franny]

I'm just catching up on a lot of reading on your blog, but it all looks so lovely. The waterfall especially would have been a neat experience. I can't wait to one day travel to some of these same places, but for now, I am enjoying being jealous of and living vicariously through you two!