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Published: December 22nd 2006
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Huay Xai The border crossing from Thailand into Laos was quite humorous. We casually walked down to the Mekong River, passing through no security checkpoint, and loaded onto a colorful long tail boat which shuttled us for 30 seconds across the river. Upon arrival, I found out that there was no way to get money out so I returned to Thailand, went on a tuk-tuk ride to an ATM, and then ferried back to Laos. To make matters worse, we were then scammed on our visas. They charged us $1,800 baht instead of $1,500. So, after two hours of arguing with "immigration," (many of whom quickly fled on their motorbikes) we were finally given our money back.
The next morning we were crammed into a long tail boat with fifty other falangs (Westerners) to begin our two day journey down the Mekong River. I had fun staring at the water buffalo wading in the river and passing by villages that have existed for thousands of years. After eight hours of sitting on wooden benches, I had an extremely sore bum, and lots of new friends (being stuck on top of each other really breaks the ice). That night we
stopped in Pak
Beng, a tiny village with only 3 hours of electricity each day. The torches that the guesthouse owner gave us definitely came in handy!
The next day we were crammed into a smaller long tail boat! Linds and I were given plastic seats which were much more comfortable than the wooden bench seats. The boat swayed back and forth and we seemed to be much closer to the water than we were the previous day. Every so often we stopped to bale water out of the engine area and pick up locals who piled on the cramped boat with huge bags of rice, bicycles, and adorable children strapped to their backs in gorgeous, brightly colored slings.
Luang Prabang We unloaded in Luang Prabang, a very charming French colonized city. Situated in the mountains of northern Laos, it is a quiet town filled with temples and monks wearing bright saffron colored robes hiding from the sun under black umbrellas. It was a perfect place to finally relax and unwind, especially after being sick in Thailand, getting accustomed to a new culture, religion, language, food and of course, the long journey on the slow boat. It has
delicious baguettes, crepes, and coffee thanks to the French colonists. Other than the Hmong, Mien and Thai tribal villagers that congregate for the nightly market, most of the residents are in bed by 10pm.
Vang Vieng Famous for its lazy river which everyone tubes down. Along the river, there are numerous makeshift bars (usually one every 50 ft) that have a brilliant music selection blaring as well as zip lines and rope swings to play on. The local Laos people call out "Beer Lao, Beer Lao, Beer Lao," and as you get closer they then hold out a long bamboo stick to pull you in. We went twice in five days! Great fun.
The other thing Vang Vieng is famous for is its "Friends" bars. One night, Lindsey and I were eating dinner watching an episode (or two) of Friends and at the same time; you could literally hear the theme song blaring out of at least three other bars! The bars play the show morning to night and everyone lounges around on massive pillows drinking fruit shakes. Hilarious!
Xieng Khuang We decided to detour to the Northeastern part of Laos to see one of the most
heavily bombed places in the country as well as the Plain of Jars. The ten hour bus/sauna from Vientiane (capital) was stunning; lush jungle, rigid mountains, hill tribe villages and many carsick Laos people. Linds and I were the only falangs and funny enough we seemed to be the only people on the bus who didn't make use of our 'sick bags.' (Maybe it was the bird/rat kebabs that the roadside sellers shoved into the bus windows for people to buy) At one point, I woke up; put my foot in my flip flop, only to find sticky rice vomit (I was sharing my seat with a little girl). It is acceptable to litter in Laos, thus, the 'sick bags' usually ended up being thrown out the window to collect on the side of the road with all sorts of other plastic remains.
A bit of history on Laos: During the Indochina War the United States bombed Laos in an attempt to rid the North Vietnamese from building the Ho Chi Minh trail. Now, the country is filled with thousands of unexploded ordinances (UXOs), which is one of the prime factors limiting development (farming, villages).
We went to Thampiu cave
where the U.S. bombed three times and killed 374 innocent Laos civilians. It was very emotional to walk through the cave and to speak to a few men who live close to the caves and helped clear bodies. We apologized on behalf of our country and we were surprised at the lack of animosity towards Americans. The men responded; 'You are a new generation. We have nothing but peace and love for you and the American people.' Talk about world peace! Laotians are such peaceful, happy, and genuine people. Perhaps, the rest of the world should look to Laos as an excellent country and people who know what world peace actually is-who embody it with all their actions.
Another admirable aspect of the Laos people is that they create life from terrible situations and make the most of what they have. At one of the Hmong hill tribe villages, we saw how they used the bomb shells to support their houses, build gardens, and make fences!
Plain of Jars is an area containing 2,000 year old massive rock jars of unknown origin. Some people believe they were used for making Lao Lao rice whisky, while others believe they were used
to bury the dead.
Vientiane We arrived back into Vientiane at 5 am, after another joyous 10 hour bus ride. It was perfect timing, as we had planned to go to That Luang, a big golden stupa for the That Luang Festival which is the largest temple fair in Laos. Sleepy eyed and hungry we made our way to That Luang, stopping along the way to buy sticky rice, bananas, incense, and orchids to give alms to the monks. On the morning of the full moon monks from all around Laos come to Vientiane for the festival. There were hundred of monks lined up as far as my eyes could see. Not quite sure how to participate in an appropriate manner, we followed the Laos people, sat with our feet under us, facing the monks and began to arrange our offerings. A lovely family invited us to sit with them on their mat. We had a great time getting to know them; laughing at our lack of Laos language, and learning about the festival and customs regarding Laos culture. Later they invited us to eat breakfast with them. I'm so glad I told them that we were vegetarians because I
don't think we could have hacked a 4 month old chicken egg, rats, pork rinds, and other traditional delicacies. We made our way around the stupa, offering food, flowers, & incense to the monks. Many gave us colorful string bracelets to wish us safe, happy & healthy travels. We went back later that night to see what the biggest temple fair in Laos is all about. Sure enough, it was grand! Ferris wheels, Lao music stages with people dancing like crazy, balloons, carnival games (my favorite was when we saw a monk throwing a ball at stacks of Beer Lao bottles.
4,000 Islands We spent the last few days in Si Phan Don, 4,000 islands which is where the Mekong River spreads out to form a network of channels, sandbars, & islands. Don Det Island where we stayed has a similar atmosphere as Vang Vieng. It is super chilled out, has a great backpacker scene with its many quaint guesthouses overlooking magnificent scenery, long tail boats shuttling people to and from the mainland and beautiful waterfalls. While I wouldn't dare swim in the Mekong, I was quite content watching it from the comfort of my hammock.
I LOVE LAOS!!
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Liz
non-member comment
AHH!!
I'm obsessed with Laos! I've never been, but your stories and pictures are amazing - and I've heard a thing or two about those fruit shakes... Love Liz