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Published: February 3rd 2013
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The traffic has come to a halt. Up ahead, a bus and truck have tried to pass each other where road works have closed half the road. The result of course, is inevitable.
In Australia, there would be some law and order, but remember we are in Laos. First, the cars and vans move forward as far as they can, blocking the road. Then the crowd gathers around the accident, waving hands, nodding in agreement and laughing. No one is in charge and no one seems to really care.
Piles of gravel block one side of the road and a few guys, with bamboo sticks, try to level the gravel somewhat as to allow the traffic through one side. There doesn’t appear to be any shovels in Laos! With only a small amount of success, the four wheel drives now try their luck. The result, hilarious. The crowd is now right in on the act, cheering, laughing and worrying over every attempt.
A few have had success and more gravel is levelled and the crowd growing. But where do you go when you emerge out the other side? They are confronted with traffic, three abreast, facing you. They
sit there blowing their horns in vain. Some drivers now return to the vehicles and try to reorganise so as to let the traffic flow, but not all because some are having too much fun watching the four wheel drive show up front.
If you were in Australia, the road rage would be intense I am sure a fight would have ensued by now. You have to admire the lovely nature of these people.
Eventually a front end loader appears, crawling its way through the jam and clears the gravel away and the traffic starts flowing from the other direction. But there is no stop and go signs so we are still marooned on our side. Alas! A saviour has emerged from our side of the pack. A tinted glassed Range Rover has bullied its way to the front and reversed the flow of traffic. We follow him through and emerge, free, out the other side. Money is power in this country.
Vientiane is the capital of Laos. It is a flat, sprawly, drab city on the banks of the Mekong. Today’s cloudy skies, only adding to the grey town. The only break to the monotony is
the Lao architecture of the government buildings. The French influence is not as strong here; worst luck because they do know how to build a beautiful city those French.
The city seems to be booming though, with a lot of Chinese money pouring in. Also Thailand, which is only 37 km away on the other side of The Mekong, has a strong influence. The majority of tourists are Thai.
The communist government is very corrupt. For any business to be done someone has to be paid off. The government, without warning, can take your land for their own use. There is no revenue for public works because little tax is paid. To have any new project approved an official has to be not only paid off but must be a friend or relative of yours. Communism at its grandest!
Luckily for us, Daniel has an old Greg’s school friend who lives here. His family run a finance and real estate business here and he has graciously offered to show us around.
There is The Arch of Victory, a replica of the Arche De Triomphe, in Paris. Many Wats, a few Stupas and the gaudy Government Buildings.
We spend most of our time eating and drinking, always an enjoyable pastime.
Phonsak takes us to different restaurants and orders the food for us. Lunching in a raft on the river, dinners overlooking the mighty Mekong and in a French house with typical Laos musicians and dancers. Pork in egg, mince pork, fried whole fish, fried pork, fried chicken (feet and all), omelette, different kinds of ‘weed’ and moss all cooked in many varied herbs and spices. Each meal served with the usual sticky rice. Dessert – sticky rice and mango and coconut filled with fruits and the sweet taste of the coconut milk.
Tomorrow we leave Laos for Singapore, leaving behind some great memories of spectacular scenery, faraway places, delicious food, beerlao and the odd misadventure but most of all the happy, smiling, faces of the layback people.
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