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Published: January 18th 2010
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After a few days in Vientiane, I took a 25 minute flight up to Luang Prabang, my favorite place in the world, and the town where I lived before for seven months, starting in January 2008. I was indescribably happy to be returning, having missed it from the moment I left from visiting, eight months ago. My friend Suzy, an Australian ex-pat, picked me up at the tiny four-room airport and brought me back to her house. It almost felt like I never left town; everything looked so familiar, and I felt the same pleasure as before to be here.
For the first few days, I stayed with my good friend Gabe, who I’d met in January 2008 here, and who has been living in Luang Prabang for fourteen months now. He is working hard to create the first Luang Prabang Film Festival, to be held here in December of 2010. There is no film industry in Laos; Lao people watch Thai films, as the language is very similar, and there is no knowledge of how one would make a film. Gabe hopes to change that and is now searching for funding for his project.
The first few days,
I have just been wandereding around town, visiting old friends, some who knew I'd be coming from emails, and some of whom had no idea. Casual friends I run in to around town tend to say, “Oh wow, hi, I haven’t seen you in a long time. Where have you been?”
The overwhelming feeling of this town is of an active peacefulness. There is a lot going on, construction, tourists, eating everywhere, cars, motorbikes, kids bicyling to school, but one never feels hurried or stressed. It’s quiet, despite the roosters crowing at all hours, the catfights, the chainsaws, the motorbikes. And it’s winter, so the weather is lovely. About 60 in the morning and evening, which everyone thinks is freezing, and 75 during the day, with frequent clouds and fog. Like Vientiane, the town is filled with gorgeous French Colonial buildings, in different stages of decay or restoration. Unlike Vientiane, the town is also filled with temples, about 69 of them, also in different stages of decay or glory. Most of the temples are around 400 years old, from when Luang Prabang was the capital of the country. The town is also set amid a sea of mountains and
jungle, making it just a stunning place to live.
People get around by motorbike, mainly, or bicycles, and more and more by car. The driver of a motorbike is supposed to wear a helmet, but passengers are not required to, and nobody does at night. But people drive pretty slow in town, only around 20 mph. Sometimes there are collisions between motorbikes and cars, and depending where the crashes take place, if its on certain roads where people tend to go faster, the motorbikers die.
One of my favorite things about this place is that people take you at face value. If you smile, they assume you are nice and friendly, and smile back. This might not seem like much, but its been a problem for me all over the world. In most places when I smile at people they assume I'm looking to rob or injure them. Not so here. I was once told here that when you smile, people assume you have a good, pure heart and trust you.
There is also food everywhere here, people cooking constantly, and more importantly, no set eating hours. Lao people eat all the time, all day long. It’s
great. And anybody that can cook well can just set up a table on the side of the road and sell food. It’s incredibly convenient; walking around town, anytime you get hungry for a snack, you just see what’s for sale at the next table. Spring rolls, noodle soup, omelettes, grilled fish, ground beef salad, grilled bananas, pan-friend noodles, burgers and baguette sandwiches are just a few options.
On Thursday I moved in to a small room at a guesthouse, similar to a hotel, but the family lives in the place and runs it. As the owners are friends, they gave me a great deal, $7 a night. As it is now the “high season” meaning the most popular time of year for tourists to come, cheap rooms around town are currently running about 150,000 kip or $17. The place is a big old house, the owners live on the main floor, and I stay in one of the four rooms on the second floor. The bathroom is brand new, but shared, also on the second floor. Behind the house is a lovely courtyard with a big table for eating, and 6 private rooms built by the owners. Incredibly,
the house actually has WI-FI, a huge perk I never expected, that allows me to work and correspond comfortably from my room. Before, I always had to go to the internet shops, where the computers often broke, and annoying tourists yelling in to Skype were all around, making work difficult. Another fabulous part of this guesthouse is the new, modern-ish kitchen that I can cook in, complete with gas burners. Unlike most Lao kitchens, which (in the city), contain only a fridge, an electric wok and a rice cooker. No burners, no oven. In the country, the kitchen is generally a wood fire built fresh each day in the corner.
I bought a bicycle second-hand from Suzy, and am enjoying biking everywhere again, as I did when I lived in Australia. Sometimes, like today, I have to bike really fast to keep up, as most of my friends have motorbikes. Which is good, as everyone seems to agree that I’ve gotten touey, meaning fat, though the consensus is that I am lovelier. Last night I bicycled about two miles to the club, and checked my bicycle at the motorbike check outside. I was meeting Lao girl friends there and
they motorbiked home right next to me, slowly, as I pedaled furiously.
My first goal is to learn to speak Lao kang, meaning well. Unlike before, I am learning to read and write. I can communicate now, but there’s a lot that I miss in conversation, and plenty I can’t say, so I‘m psyched to improve. It’s pretty cute how every time I pull out my alphabet book, the locals are tickled pink, and eager to help me learn. There are about twenty consonants, ten vowels and six tones. Seeing as most people here are learning English, and Lao is a lot easier than English, I have no excuse not to learn quickly. Lao letters originate from ancient Indian Pali and are similar to Thai. The great thing about the Lao language is that there are no tenses, no fillers (a, and, the), and common usage is blunt and to the point. Currently I'm studying so much that I think in Lao.
For now I’m really enjoying being back here, the stomach problem, ensueing dehydration, acheiness and headache acquired today aside, as the stomach needs time to adjust and this inconvenience must be expected for a period of
time. I have no idea what the long-term future holds. But for the immediate future, I can’t imagine leaving. I’ll write more big adventures soon, but for now, the photos and this text should give an inkling of what it’s like here.
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Shannon
non-member comment
You made it~!
Hi lovely lady!! this is wonderful what an excellant way to keep everyone updated! I am so happy for you that you feel such peace and happiness upon your return. It must be so nice to have all your friends still there and right in the neighborhood! I can only imagine you peddling next to them on motorbikes haha I amm laughing out loud this whole entry! Your home looks lovely inside and out, these pics off your balcony are so serene. Let's talk soon I am so excited you have WIFI in your house! Love you~!