Laos

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LAOS
Laos is a beautiful country rurally dominated both in a geographical/physical and a cultural sense. Nary a big city can be found, with its capital Vientiane having more of a large town feel than city. Vientiane (which is where I flew in) has some beautiful Buddhist temples and monasteries, a few good cafes, some excellent bookstores, and a position right on the Mekong River, but it is a rather dull town. It felt pretty exotic arriving there for the first time, even though it has some of the elements of Thailand, Cambodia and China, all of which I had visited previously.

The Mekong, being obviously diverted for agriculture upstream, was low when I was there, and flowed all the way over on the Thai side, so that the view of the river from the frontage street was actually a view of sand and gravel being actively mined. This did not stop food stalls from setting up tables right out on the bare bluff overlooking the dusty work being performed by heavy machinery. Ahh, how romantic.

Another thing I'll remember about my arrival is my room's view out onto the street, where across the way several young Laos toiled with picks and shovels digging (in very tough rocky ground) the foundation for a new building. Older men supervised, doing nothing, but what struck me was the fact that it would be virtually impossible to see such a thing done in the U.S. If you could not secure a backhoe, you would just wait until you could.

I visited southern Laos, and was going to go to the north where wonderful treks into the region of hill tribes, plus the world heritage town of Luang Prabang are located. But alas my trip was cut a little short (short being a relative term since I had been traveling for 3 and a half months at that point). But southern Laos is very pretty, and two weeks gave me a good overview of the people and their land.

Although Laos does not figure in too many tourist brochures and assorted hype, it nonetheless has a definite tourist trail, which can approach the atmosphere of Thailand. But it is a simple thing to get out away from this tourist trail: all one need do is travel away from the Mekong River, since tourists seem to travel up or down Laos never getting too far from the Mekong. If you make this effort, by either renting a car or motorbike, or even taking fairly decent bus transport, then your reward is very pretty, often spectacular countryside, where people are identified more by their tribal identity than anything else.

Laotians are warm and friendly, not as ebullient as Cambodians, much less worldly than Thais, and not as dour as Chinese can be. They are right in between all of these neighbors. They are honest to a fault, and I felt as if I could just leave my camera or other expensive things lying about without worry. I would even call them naïve (in the best of ways), and earnest. Like many rural folk, Laotians are a bit reserved, especially compared to their neighbors to the south, Cambodians. Just a few are catching “Thai flu”, and being influenced by TV and material values, also viewing tourists one-dimensionally. But they and their country are relatively unspoiled to date.

One trend which is obvious all over is the rapid development of Laos's natural resources, in particular hydropower. They are touting themselves as the “battery of Asia”, and their rivers and surrounding forests are paying the price. Also, trade with China and Vietnam is growing leaps and bounds, leading to increased prosperity. China especially is influencing little Laos. As a result of this, many otherwise remote places have that frontier atmosphere, with log trucks hauling huge trees over dusty roads, roads being built and improved rapidly, and a constant flow of transient workers.

The damming of the Mekong, which gets some international attention, is only one aspect of the environmental losses. In tiny little outposts I noticed all the signs of budding projects like dams, mines and logging concessions: contractor pickups racing over the roads back to small towns, westerners at work, and even little bar/brothels operating out of people's houses. It is actually quite an energetic scene, and reminded me of so many places I have worked (Alaska for example), and also places I have traveled (Borneo for example). It's exciting when you are directly involved, making good money doing interesting work in beautiful locales. But observing it objectively from the outside, it is depressing as all hell. I like Laos and Laotians. I just hope they realize what they have before it's all sold off to or exploited by China.

I really want to return with my motorcycle and ride through northern Laos, perhaps also through Burma and SW China. But I feel as though I should really hurry before Laos becomes another Thailand, or worse, a southern “province” of China. I actually did some motorbike riding there, across the Bolaven Plateau, and the roads (which have received upgrades over the last several years) are perfect, really perfect, for road trips. Not many Laotians drive, at least long distances, and there is a lot of countryside with only scattered towns and villages. So roads are well-preserved even with little money for maintenance (except near and in the towns, where they are pretty bad). Laos has SE Asia's lowest population density, and boy do you notice that when cruising over the hills away from the Mekong. You have the road to yourself much of the time. And scenic!

One area I really liked was the Bolaven Plateau. It lies in the far south of the country, east of the Mekong and west of the Vietnam border. The old Ho Chi Minh Trail runs along its eastern side, so the whole area was heavily bombed (and I mean heavily!) by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. You have to remind yourself when checking the area out to avoid walking into the woods or off the principal trails. That is if you don't want to join the thousands and thousands of local people missing limbs from UXOs (unexploded ordinance...that explodes).

But the Bolaven is a massive plateau partly covered with coffee and other plantations, but retaining a healthy amount of forest as well. Tiny villages dot the area. Along the perimeter of the plateau are spectacular waterfalls and rivers, with villages clustered along the waterways. The children have a way of playing in the river while at the same time gathering fish, crustaceans, and other goodies from the river to supplement their family's diet. They are much fun to watch.

Another place I went which was a lot of fun was a small village called Kiet Ngong, south of Pakse. There is an ecolodge there that is situated right at the edge of a large wetland, with wilderness beyond. The local mahouts, or elephant handlers, give lessons to tourists on how to ride an elephant. I couldn't pass that up. It was, let's say, different than riding a horse. In bare feet, I straddled her neck, and steered by jamming my toes into the space behind her big floppy ears. My feet were filthy and smelly when I got done, and it was huge fun!

Not far from here is Wat Phu, an old Khmer site which actually predates Angkor Wat to the south. If you rent a moto in Pakse, it is a great drive south, then pushing the bike onto a tiny ferry to cross the Mekong, before getting to the ruins. They are located at the base of a holy mountain, and have a great view (contrasted with Angkor, which is situated on land as flat as a pancake). A few local girls followed me up the steep stairs to the temple, then knelt and prayed for awhile before skipping off. Why I travel!

Another time, riding a motorbike again, this time with an American woman on the back (she turned out to be one of those somewhat cute single girl-travelers who use guys to dramatically lower their expenses). We stopped for a quick break and to ask directions, and this guy comes out with a red welder's mask and puts it on, looking up at the sky and then gesturing to me to try it. I really had no clue what his deal was, until I finally got it. He wanted me to look at the sun. Even before I did, it was dawning on me...he wanted me to look at a solar eclipse! It was a partial eclipse going on while I was blissfully unaware. And I, Mr. Astro, would have missed it completely had not a supposedly simple rural Laotian not clued me in. Amazing!

So I can heartily recommend Laos. I need to go back and see the north, which is said to be interesting for its hill tribes, and spectacular for its mountains and rivers. I should note that Laos is slightly more expensive than either Thailand or Cambodia. But the difference is not really significant unless you are on an extremely tight budget. If so, spend more time in Cambodia. I also recommend jumping off the tourist trail by leaving the Mekong Valley. I know it's an overused cliché, but this is where you'll find the “real Laos”.

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