The relaxation nation of the world.... The Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos


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August 19th 2007
Published: August 19th 2007
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The many faces of Buddha...The many faces of Buddha...The many faces of Buddha...

Wat Haw Pha Keaw - Vientiane
We were both looking forward to Lao after so many great reports from friends and fellow travellers. We were not disappointed by any means..... On the surface, it looks like a quieter, equally as friendly and polite, cheaper version of Thailand. (35$/day for two without skimping - amazing to think that 2 can live well on the same amount as you would pay on a short commute into London each day!) . The food is similar but interestingly different. People take the time to chat. Wats (Temples), beautiful cultural heritage and nature abound. It is simply THE best place to relax on the planet we reckon.

We woke in Chiang Khong at 7.30am to get packed and ready to be dropped by the Guesthouse owner at the muddy Mekong ferry slipway to do our checking out of Thailand and take the few minutes crossing of the mighty Mekong in a narrow boat to the Laos side. Before being allowed into the country, Rich had to secure a visa-on-entry - San cruised by free of charge, being a member of the ASEAN family. Visa application prices are quoted in the hardest of currencies, US dollars. Rich asked how much it would be in Thai Baht. "Har Sip Loy" replied the stern looking official. A quick bit of mental arithmetic revealed the source of his round belly and no doubt well fed extensive family... 1500 Baht is equivalent to $50, $15 more than the quoted $35 visa price. An attempt to by some dollars at the money exchange some staggering 6.5meters away failed (after getting the hard cash they don't part from it easily) and without a leg to stand on Rich had to put aside the rip-off grievances to give up the 1500 baht for the privilige of entry.

Once the stamp of approval to visit and spend in the Lao Democratic Peoples Republic was secured, the next task was to get signed up for the slow boat to Luang Prabang - the river is a major liquid highway providing the access in this remote, hilly part of the country where roads are not always there or very hard to travel on. Through Richy’s enquiry and negotiation it became clear that the breakeven between the cost of a single person fare (800 baht) on a boat packed with 60+ people and hiring our own boat (for 18,000 Baht) would be
Hmong girls...Hmong girls...Hmong girls...

They came in out of the rain to see us...
around 20+ people. Unfortunately, having crossed mid morning, we only managed to muster a group of 9 before the flow of tourists began to dry up and the remaining people were already locked into a boat through their package deal. So much for the entrepreneurial spirit - we ended up reverting to Plan A, packing it in like cows being transported to the market. The jetty is 2km upstream from the immigration and the price we paid for included the transport there. We stocked up on munchies and fluids for the long day ahead and finally made our way onto a very packed 40m by 4m woodern longboat, selecting wisely some floor space in the storage/engine area where some of the Laos travellers had put up - by this time, being one of the last few on, it was the only place with reasonable space. Seven cramped, yet enjoyable hours of chugging down the Mekong river ensued with the occasional rain shower, stop at a local village for loading/unloading of goods, running of rapids😱 and heaps of classic Mekong hillscape scenery. With ears ringing from the engine opera we got off at the sleepy village of Pak Beng, our overnight
Giving of Alms - Luang PrabangGiving of Alms - Luang PrabangGiving of Alms - Luang Prabang

A custom exercised religously every morning in Luang Prabang street at the the unearthy hour of 5.30am...
stop, around six and quickly secured a stay in our little wooden shed (Santisukes House) for 70 baht ($2) a night. If you so happen to stop by there, look out for Pulu, the place’s 20+ year old cheery self-taught in english marketer who is happy to have a chat if he is not busy trying to get other customer’s in. After a much needed shower, we remembered that it was Rich's birthday and celebrated with a few Beer Lao's and some home cooked Laotian food. All rounded up with a sounding victory over his scrabble arch-rival Lee San San.

The following day was much of the same but to our horror, we were hoarded into a boat three quarters the size. Talk about being cramped! We ended up next to the little cooking stove after moving some melons out of the way blocking the entrance to the back balcony who were housing the crazy hung-over Spanish crowd that had been partying hard the day before. At a consolation, the Spanish Technical college teacher entertained us with his bar trick of ‘blow-up the condom on the head’. Guess it would not be wide to send the footage off to his school! Thankfully the day was a little shorter than the previous and seven hours later, Luang Prabang was fully in sight. After a short stroll right of the jetty alongside the riverbank, bags were off-loaded in Chanh Tat Phone Guesthouse with a great sigh of relief and we jumped into our favourite acticity of the day - a Shower. Nicely positioned in the middle of a pretty lane (the lane between JOma Bakery and the Post Office), this guesthouse has nice clean big rooms, nicely ventilated with hot water, comfy bed and friendly pet dog DoDo. All as a pocket pleasing price of $ 4.50 per night. Luang Prabang, wedged in an inner bend of the Mekong, can be walked from end to end in less than 30 minutes and contains a string of guesthouses, travel & trek companies touting adventure tours to the nearby villages and caves, cool cafes and a healthy sprinkling of Wats - over 20 in less than 1 square mile!

The next few days were spent chilling at froggy-style cafes, eating the excellent street food (which includes freshly baked chicken-mayo-salad baguettes -khao jii - a throwback from the French days - for a US dollar,) visiting the many Wats and a good few hours in internet cafes keeping the blog up to date. We checked out the night market, took in foot and body massages and climbed the leafy Phu Si hill that marks the centre of the town and visited Wat Pa Huak and Pha Phutthabaht on top. On the nearby Russian anti-aircraft cannon that still rotates smoothly sat 2 novice monks, Lan and Say who began practising english with Richy and after learning that he had resided in Bangkok for a year and a half asked with firm questioning gazes ‘Then, why don’t you know how to speak Thai?’ Er-hum, to these 2 keen teenage language learners, it was hard to explain how time subjects an old dog to only performing old tricks. Despite this mortal failing, they found us amusing enough to invite us to their wat to see the inside which was usually locked up between the morning and evening prayers. We took up this offer to be able to view the sitting bronze Buddha cast in 1372 in all its 2 tonne glory. Armed with his finally working iPod, Richy was able to show them the best of the photos from the trip thus far. The desire to travel gleamed from their eyes as they asked questions about the places - sadly only a distant prospect given the economic standing of most Laotians. The strength of their self-learnt English is admirable and they have just begun to add Korean to their repertoire with the hope that they could go there one day through some Korean monastic exchange. We will be in touch guys!

Luang Prabang is also famed for the daily Alms giving by the people to the monks. To catch a glimpse of this serene procession, we arose at 5.30am one of the mornings. By 6.30am all the activity is close to an end and what a better thing than to sit by a coffee shop to enjoy a steaming cup of kaa-fe? With all those Wats and monks its got to be an event, right? Even with all this excitement, we jumped back into bed for a few more hours after. Another attempt was made for a repeat showing but the flesh proved to be a lot weaker than the mind.

The Royal Palace Museum is one of the nicest museums that we have been to
A break in the rain...A break in the rain...A break in the rain...

Trekking Luang Prabang
to-date. We only managed to get in after a few failed attempts at getting there too late or when the staff was having a day off (Monday). The throne hall or the coronation room in its deep blood red colour filled with glass mosaics of Laotian legends and life is a sight to behold under the soft glow of the incandescent lighting.

We did finally get off our lazy butts to sign up for a trek with TigerTrails for a 7 hour trek the following day to experience some of the outdoors that Laos had to offer. Tiger Trails just started Fair Trek where they use 25%!o(MISSING)f what you pay for on a one day trek for a fund that is used for the betterment of the villages they bring people to (36%!f(MISSING)or the 2 days trek). It was felt that $28 was a little steep for the activity but it was worth it if all the profits are not being horded by the company. A 40min ride in a 1970's LandRover not only took us to the start of the trek at the LaoSpirit Resort, it displayed the solid bit of British engineering in the rust bucket whose door on the driver’s side was threatening fall open at every corner taking the driver with it. While waiting to get started, the clouds had begun to noticeably build up and a slight drizzle had begun to fall. Even with the looming prospect of being drenched, we hopped onto the little longtail boat across to the elephant centre to greet the 3 gentle giants, bid them farewell and start on some mud sploshing fun. The drizzle by this time had decided to come down more threateningly but us heroes refused to turn back. Whats the worst that rain could do to us? Wrinkly skin and soaking boots? Plus we had paid, what else could we do, ask for a refund? The rain paused for a little while just outside the first Kamu village long enough for some pictures of the views of looming karst mountains decorated with lace-like shifting clouds of mist. Before you knew it, it decided to increase in intensity. Within minutes it had become a full force torrential rain, angrily pelting down pebble sized drops that would occasionally miss the leaves and pound our bare skin with its full force. We soon gave up our
San chowing down at the noodle place near our place in Luang Prabang...San chowing down at the noodle place near our place in Luang Prabang...San chowing down at the noodle place near our place in Luang Prabang...

Tasted great and they even allowed you to pick your own 'spare parts' out of the offel bowl... Mmmmm
sissy attempts at keeping our walking boots dry and tried to imagine ourselves adventurers of places unknown bravely wading, sometime knee deep through, through the normally quiet stream beds that were by now swollen to chocolate coloured mini rivers. After some time, it felt like equilibrium between the cooling effect of the tepid tropical rain and our body temperature from the exertion was reached. Bravely, we marched on.

The next stop, a Hmong village and refuge was sought for 15 minutes at the headman’s porch which was already busy with half of his 14 offspring and Grandma working on some patterning with the finest of stitches for sale at the local market. The handiwork so small that the thread looked like spider’s silk. We took photos and video of a group of his rain drenched girls who were suitably entertained by their images helping them and us to forget our shivers. With the rain pounding hard still, we decided to make a move to get back to the riverside early via the slippery gradual decent over the following 2 hours through forest and rice fields, swollen streams and villages. By this time, the Mekong was showing us a very different side from the one we had left only 5 hours earlier. By now very swollen, its little islands covered in fast rapid flowing water. Still it did not stop river activities as many villagers still continued fishing with the classic lead weighed hand nets. We bid farewell to our guide Ai at his village on the way back and arrived in town ready for some grub. Nothing better to end that day with one chicken baguette and 3 bowls of pork noodles and a nice hot shower to wash away the cold.




So after a total count of 14 monster baggettes, most of Wats and a soggy trek under our belt we were ready to move on to the capital Vientiane. We took an ex-Korean bus that was now masquerading as the 'aircon' deluxe (well it was capable of aircon but most of the time it was switched off. Open door and windows brought in cooler outside than in) the 9 hours down a very windy route 13. Between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, the eye candy of the breath taking views of green valleys flanked with spectacular limestone cliffs, coffee table book views of juvenille green rice paddies and those tending to them maticulously in their classic conical straw hats and functional picturesque villages flashed past.

Just before six, the bus lumbered into the capital. So goes the normal routine:
‘So, how much to centre?’
‘Eh, very good prie, only 10 thousan Kip each person’
‘Har? Very expensive. Only 2 km away. 5 thousand is good price’
‘Har phan? No, mai dai (cannot)!’
Internal dialougue 'Mai dai you head! of course can! We travelling for so long, not that stupid ok?!'
(Still smiling)‘Ok, cannot then we wait for another. Bo pan yang (no problem)’
‘Ok, ok, jump in (you win)

Victory proved to be quite short lived, we did get into town, but trudged through 6 places before settling into the 3rd one we had viewed. A description of Saysouly Guesthouse is given under the budget heading at the number one spot in the lonely planet and was by far the best. For a change it had not upped its prices since appearing in this pinnacle spot of traveller bibles. For $7 a night we bagged a clean spacious double room with aircon and shared bathroom. Cleaned and spruced up we headed out into the sleepy centre of Vientiane and found a great traditional Loa Chinese Coffeeshop (Namphou Coffee) and tucked into a feast with beer for 71,000 kip (about $7). Another cheapie recommended in the book was The following day we went in search of Samsenthai Fried Noodle shop with its interesting rendition of Kuey Teow Cantonese style (for $1.20 a plate). In the following nights, we had nice posh French in Caves de Chateaux for about $30 for the both of us including drinks, al fresco by the river at one of the stalls (this is one tourist trap - expensive for what you can get elsewhere and the free kamakasi mosquito attacks didn’t help. If wanting a Mekong river meal experience, walk further west till the tourist faces peter out and get replaced by Laotian ones). To top it off, there is this fantastic little place in Ban Mixay opposite the side entrance of the towering Cultural Hall with its BBQ fish (for $2, the salted, charcoal burned, smoke drenched pelagics here are double the size to those sold at the riverside stalls). Throw in some sticky rice, a papaya and vermicelli salad and be surprised at the post lunch rotundness that suddenly developed for $3.50 for the 2 of us.

When you can eat as well as this for that price in the centre of the capital city it just goes to show that Lao has got to be the cheapest and easiest place to travel that we have experienced on our travels so far - even cheaper than India we reckon - an incredible country.

On the first night itself, after indulging in our stomachs, we get suddenly drawn in by one of the strongest forces known to exist in the universe to date. THE MASSAGE SHOP TRACKTER BEAM! Syri Massage (in Syri Hotel) was advertised on a homemade poster in the coffeeshop and we sat back to enjoy a foot rubdown performed expertly by Ay and Peng. If there is one way to describe feet in heaven, this was it. We both agreed afterwards that this was the best massage that either of us had had by a long stretch 😊 -. and that's from a large sample in Rich's case, having spent close to 2 years in Bangkok.

We also happened to bump into Alessandra & Lorenzo a couple we had met in the guest house in Chiang Khong and again in Luang Prabang and again now in Vientiane. We weren’t there but they said they didn’t like their time in Vang Vieng with all its numerous t.v.s blaring and young college kids in loud voices after a few to drink. They are now on their way to Thailand to enjoy the sun and the sand. Hope you enjoyed that chill out!

No, we didn’t just come to the capital to stuff our faces and get our bodies rubbed down by others. We came to learn a little culture too and awe in the monuments scattered about the city. We wondered at all the cement that was meant to build the airport being channelled to this half complete Patuxai (similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris), peeked into the Presidents Palace and took snaps of old french colonial houses basking under the setting sun, tried to get into the head of the founder of the bizarre Xieng Khuang (Buddha Park) and Pha Tat Luang (Golden Stupa), the golden domes that grace the covers current edition of the Lonely Planet. Getting to the latter 2 locations was quite an adventure in itself. After some negotiation with different Tuk Tuk drivers and finally landed on a deal for 100,000 kip ($10), we sped down the highway built with Japanese assistance for most of the way, until it suddenly screeched to a halt. We bounced the next 10km with the tuk tuk driver trying to evade most of the potholes before coming to a nice stop in front of Buddha park. The park is a bizarre concoction of Buddhist and Hindu statues in an acre plot beside the Mekong. Built by Bunleua Sulilat, a yogi, priest and also a shaman (busy man!), in 1958, these concrete statues are now blackened and mossed giving them an aged look. The best feature is the big bowl that represents Hell, Earth and Heaven that can be explored via an internal staircase. In stark contrast, next, Pha Tat Luang is painted from head to toe in gold paint. Donned in such a majestic colour, its no wonder that it stands proud against the blue backdrop of a sky. An early dinner and a few beer Lao at a stall on the river side finished the day nicely (apart from the.)

Tomorrow, we head out towards Ban Na Hin in search of the wonder that Tham Lot Kong Lo is….

One of the main observations we have thus far is the people. People nickname Thailand the ‘Land of Smiles’. Laos is the land of gentleness. Whether Buddhist, Muslim, Spirit Believers, everyone exudes a laid back, simple, contented air - a genuine belief in living the day as the day shows itself. Other than the occasional kid crying (universal phenomenon rather than cultural influence!) there are little loud voices to be heard. Both Laotians and the people who have decided to call it home go about with ready genuine smiles in their day-to-day without getting caught in the all too familiar rat-race of other more familiar countries.



Additional photos below
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All you need for sticky rice....All you need for sticky rice....
All you need for sticky rice....

Charcoal - produced locally in holes dug into clay slops, Rice - from surrounding hills, Sticky Rice boilers and containers - made of river reeds.


21st August 2007

Glad to see you back on the road again. Keep up the posts and making us all jealous!
28th August 2007

Sawadikap!
Hey turds, I'm back onshore today. My knees are still aching from the exercising....the pictures look great. I think my tummy is catching up with Buddha's or more like Richy's.....XOXO, Jules
27th June 2008

thanks
thanks for the interesting blogs we are thinking of visiting Laos so it is good to read this. Happy travels
10th July 2008

No worries...
No worries Rob/Lorenza. Glad they were of use. Had a smooz through your blogs also. Good reads! Love the 1985 shots! Give us a shout if you are coming to KL. We can play host....
1st September 2009

Nice blog and photos
Very nice blog and some of the pictures were excellent. Especially liked the head on shots of the girls. Good job!!
14th July 2011
The many faces of Buddha...

Very inspiring photo
I also wish to go there someday with my family and teach my children about the Buddha. I'm a Buddhist painter and it's my joy to create inspiring Buddha paintings.

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