Advertisement
Published: November 23rd 2017
Phonsavan Market
Hmong girls in their finery at the market. All I could focus on was those heels, and how difficult it must be to pick their way around the uneven ground...Getting to Vientiane
I had a lazy morning in Phonsavan. After eating the hotel breakfast, I wandered around the nearby market. Phonsavan’s market is huge - way out of proportion to the size of the town. My guess is that this market serves a large hinterland. There were Hmong in traditional attire too. After packing, I checked out at 11am. My flight to Vientiane wasn‘t until 1.20pm. I considered forcing some lunch down before heading to the airport because I wouldn’t get to eat before 3pm otherwise, but I decided against it as I wasn't hungry. I reasoned that there might be a snack bar at the airport, but I bought a stuffed bread roll just in case.
I woke up a snoozing
sawngthaew driver and hired him to take me to the airport. En route, I grinned maniacally, loving every second being on his transport. Xieng Khouang Airport turned out to be a little building with - you guessed it - no snack bar. I checked in and sat there cursing my bad decision; I should have hung out at a coffee shop in Phonsavan and checked in later. At least there was a Pokestop at the airport.
Cessna Grand Caravan Heading To Luang Prabang
No, I didn’t take this plane, although that would have been an adventure! My Australian friends were on this plane. I was tempted to tell them about Channel 4’s “Worst Place To Be A Pilot”, an interesting and sometimes hair raising documentary about young pilots flying Cessnas in Indonesia, but I refrained. Fortunately, my Australian friends from yesterday - a mother and daughter pair - came along not long after. At least I had someone to chat with.
The two hours passed slowly. Finally, boarding was called. My Aussie friends headed out to their plane - it turned out their flight to Luang Prabang would be in a tiny single-engine turboprop. I googled their aircraft‘s registration later and learned it was a Cessna Grand Caravan. Most people would have been anxious, but not them - they embraced the experience. Later, they told me that one seatbelt was broken and a mountain peak appeared in front of their aircraft during flight.
My own flight on an ATR72 was much more sedate. It took only 40 minutes to fly to Vientiane, as opposed to the 11 hours (probably more) by bus. The flight only cost me $61, whereas the bus would have cost around $15. A good trade off if you ask me. After landing, I took a taxi to my accommodation, FAA Apartment. This accommodation was a great choice. For $34/night (a little dearer than my usual budget, admittedly), I got a whole studio apartment with balcony and kitchenette. I haven’t
Wat Si Saket
Hundreds of old Buddha statues. I really liked this temple. had this much space in a while. What was even better was that FAA Apartment was near the historic center.
Exploring Vientiane
My first priority was to find some food. The front desk lady told me there was a noodle shop next door. I had a very satisfying plate of fried noodles there. Sated, I wandered around the historic district to get my bearings, and then I went to the riverfront to watch the sunset. After sunset, I wandered around Chou Anouvong Park observing the locals and peeking into the clothing stores that popped up there in the evening. After a short rest back at the apartment, I went out for a late dinner of larb and sticky rice.
The next morning, I set off to cover the monuments east of my apartment. I planned to visit the monuments around my apartment in the afternoon. My stops that morning included Ho Phra Kaeo, Wat Si Saket, Wat Si Muang, Patuxai, and the COPE Visitor Center. Among the temples, Wai Si Saket stood out because there a rectangular building surrounding the main wat which had hundreds of old Buddha statues. The wat itself had a less polished, more authentic
Wat Si Muang
Here is a mailbox for you to send merit to “lovers”. Presumably, you send this merit if someone you love is short of it. I thought of sending some to Jeff. Haha. feel. I also liked Wat Si Muang a lot. It housed the old city pillar, there was an odd lion head sticking out of the ground, and there was a mailbox to send merit to “lovers”, presumably to make up for their shortages in merit. The Patuxai was an interesting diversion from the temples. Modeled on the Arc du Triomphe, one can climb to the top to enjoy views of the city and its wide boulevards.
During this walk, I explored the unexploded ordnance (UXO) issue further when I visited the COPE (Cooperative Orthotics and Prosthetics Enterprise) Visitor Center. COPE assists not just UXO survivors but also accident victims and people with disabilities by providing prosthetics and rehabilitation. A large chunk of their beneficiaries are UXO survivors, though. The exhibits included stories of how various people have been helped, and also a mockup of a typical Lao village dwelling and where UXO hazards may exist. I was glad to see that USAID supports COPE. As far as I am concerned, however, the U.S. should be responsible for cleaning up this UXO mess. Dropping 270 million explosives on a neutral country you never declared war against is unconscionable.
After
Dried Cuttlefish
The cuttlefish is grilled briefly over charcoal. It is a wonderful, chewy snack that brought me back to my childhood. Based on my limited observations (sample of three), it seems as if Caucasians are deeply offended by the smell of dried cuttlefish, at least the Japanese snack that comes in a packet. So, if you are trying to get an annoying white person to leave you alone... hmmm... I think I’ll keep a few packets at home for when Jeff annoys me... a noodle lunch, I looked at the various temples around my lodging. I was templed out by then. The temples in the area were all interesting but they all started to blend into one another.
Rediscovering Childhood Delights
After dinner (my final larb and sticky rice in Laos!), I wandered around a bit and I heard some noise coming from the Chinese temple at the riverfront, so I went in that direction. At the temple, I saw that there was a play going on, so I stood among the crowd and watched. Listening to the dialog, I realized it was Teochew, a Chinese dialect spoken in the Shantou region and technically my mother tongue although I don’t speak it. What a treat! I didn't grow up in the Singapore “heartland” and my family primarily speaks English, so I was culturally distant from this sort of thing. Looking at the various vendors, I saw a sight I hadn’t seen since my childhood - dried squid being grilled over charcoal. I immediately ordered one and savored the chewy goodness. What a wonderful way to end my last day in Laos.
A Child of Southeast Asia
I am in Singapore as
Chinese Opera
At the Chinese temple on the riverfront. It was in my father’s dialect, hence technically my mother tongue. I didn’t understand a word. I write this entry. Overall, I budgeted a few too many days to cover the places I visited in Laos, but not enough time to take in other destinations I would have liked to visit, particularly in the south. But, I try not to overplan my travel.
Growing up in modern, fast paced Singapore, I never truly got a sense of the real Southeast Asia in its multilayered complexity - think indigenous animistic practices at its core, layer on influences from India, then layer on influences from Arab and Chinese traders and Buddhist preachers, then layer on colonialism, immigration, and Christianity, and then layer on post-colonial politics. These forces have intermingled in hundreds of different permutations throughout the region to make Southeast Asia what it is today. It wasn’t until I backpacked Indonesia during university and then lived in Thailand that I began to get a sense of how all these cultural, political, and economic forces drove the crazy, chaotic mishmash that is Southeast Asia. You see all these forces working everywhere you go, even in Singapore. Traveling through this region these few months hasn’t been a hokey exercise in going back to my roots, but, rather, I have
Pool of Naga
At Chou Anouvong Park. I wouldn’t want to swim in this pool. On a more serious note, though, the naga is one of the mythical creatures common to folklore throughout Southeast Asia and it is an outcome of the Indian influence in the region. a renewed and deeper appreciation of what it means to be a child of Southeast Asia. For example, on All Souls’ Day, I passed by a cemetary in Hong Kong, and my mind wandered towards my grandmother who passed away in 1992. Her remains were recently exhumed and cremated to make way for development. I thought about her funeral and the odd blend of Chinese and Catholic traditions we observed. It was bewildering but, somehow, they all worked together in the end. Or, take Singlish (Singapore English), which is essentially a hybrid compromise language to facilitate communication between different races. If only the whole world could learn to compromise together in this manner and somehow make it work. There is so much more of Southeast Asia I still want to explore. Cambodia is high on that list, as well as parts of Indonesia. And, I want to experience India, the place that shaped much of pre-colonial Southeast Asia.
But, for now, Australia and New Zealand beckon. A few days from now, I will fly to Australia and then to New Zealand for the final legs of this extended part of my Midlife Crisis Flashpacking Trip.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.081s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0446s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
alex waring
Alexander Waring
South-East Asia
I loved your summary of South-East Asia, a fascinating mix of cultures, histories and influences. Sounds like you've had a wonderful time in Laos. I wish you a safe journey on to Australia, look forward to reading about your adventures there :)