Summer: Part 1 ~ Lao PDR

**Pictures will be placed soon!

After a failed attempt to get a visa and join friends on a trip to Iran, I decided to journey to Lao PDR (People’s Democratic Republic) to check it out. It’s a place that I’ve wanted to travel to and I’ve never heard one negative thing about the country from anyone who has ever traveled there. From them the advice is always the same, “Go now, before it becomes like Thailand!” Now, I love Thailand, so if that’s the recommendation on Lao I figured I better check it out. So I did, and believe me, it did not disappoint. For those that don’t know Lao is a landlocked country in SE Asia. (For that reason alone, it could never really become like Thailand because it doesn’t have beaches and palm tree covered islands that remind one of a tropical paradise). It is mainly bordered by Thailand on the west and Vietnam on the east. As was most of Asia, at one point it was a monarchy and Luaang Prabang, a city in the central part of the country, was its capital. In the 70’s it became a communist country and remains that way today, though its communism seems to be more like China then that of the former Soviet Union. Until about 10-15 years ago, most of the country was closed to tourism, so while Thailand and Vietnam flourished, Lao remained a simple, laid back place. The capital, Vientiane, is unlike any other capital city in this part of Asia. It’s very laid back and small-town like. And instead of having a population of 10 million like some of the other capital cities, the entire country’s population is about half that amount. Much of Lao is tree covered mountains which make for striking scenery and the Mekong River runs pretty much the length of the country and along its western border with Thailand. It’s colonial past goes back to Indochina (Lao and Cambodia) and France, so there are quite a few reminders of the French…. architecture, baguettes for breakfast, and street signs in Lao and French. That is the past; English is the tourist language now! And the tourists are starting to come as the secret is out about Lao as a destination.

I spent a few days in Bangkok doing the usual….eating Thai food, shopping the street markets, getting foot massages, and soaking in the culture and mild weather. (OK, it was 90* and humid, but that’s still 15-20* cooler than the temps I left in Dubai!). I also arranged my trip to Lao. I couldn’t quite get the flights I wanted and almost pulled the plug to hit a beach in Thailand, but decided to just take what I could get and go. Am I ever glad that I did! I flew to Luang Prabang and landed in the town’s small airport. I booked a hotel room ($25/night with satellite TV and AC) in the center of the town and near the river at a desk in the airport and then caught a “taxi” into the town center. I use the term taxi lightly as it was really a three wheeled tuk tuk with a long bed in the back! Pretty cool right away!! My hotel was a family run guesthouse and quite nice, especially for the price that I was paying. I walked down to the Mekong River and ate lunch at a small, simple restaurant with amazing river views. One amazing sight was watching a really nice mini-van come across the river on this makeshift pontoon raft! I couldn’t believe it; I mean, one mishap and it’s good-bye to the minivan. There are no bridges across the river in this part of Lao so it was this way or stay on the other side. After lunch I just wandered around the town admiring all the Buddhist temples, architecture, and just observing ‘life’ as it happened. I also planned my sightseeing for the next few days. That evening I took a sunset boat ride up the river and back. Aside from the beauty and peacefulness, it was interesting watching fisherman throw their nets out and watching kids playfully swim or bath in the river. I also had to try out a Loa massage [no shirt, pants stay on!] ($5/hour), because ‘when in Lao.’ It was quite rough and at times I about shed a tear but managed to keep it together. Of course, the end result after all the kneading is a most relaxed feeling. The next day was a ½ day trip up the Mekong to this cave with thousands of Buddha statues and a stop at the ‘whiskey making’ village. The boat ride took about two hours and it was basically the same path as the sunset boat ride, only much farther up the river. The scenes were the same except there were quite a few other tourist boats taking touri up the river to the caves! The boats are wooden, narrow and low to the water. I was number 11 on the boat sign up sheet! I only mention this because numbers 1-10 got into a boat that had been ‘pimped out’ with high-backed cushioned seats. My boat, with numbers 11-17, had these small wooden chairs that one finds in a first grade class with not even a cushion to sit on….totally ghetto! The caves were pretty cool (I love a Buddha statue – the various sizes, shapes, and styles all the better to see!), and the whiskey village interesting. One kind, the red kind, was good; while the clear one was nasty, strong, and probably like moonshine! I decided not to buy either, but I was tempted by the whiskey with a small cobra in the bottle! But then I thought, “What would PETA do?” and I didn’t buy it. Instead, I supported the village by buying some hand woven material (could be wall hangings, tablecloths, throws – who knows) that I really didn’t need, but it was so cheap and of pretty good quality. What can I say, I just feel the need to ALWAYS help out the local economy. Needless to say that my family and friends will benefit from all this economic support! That afternoon, I went on a road trip to a beautiful waterfall. The 45 minute ride in a van to the park where the waterfall is located made it quite clear that I didn’t want to travel by road from Prabang to Vientiane (some 8-10 hours)-the capital and point out of the country. The roads were up and down, way too curvy and stop and go and I was in the back seat. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get out of the van! The waterfall was not that high but still spectacular and there were pools to swim in just down from the falls. The water was surprisingly cool and it felt good to jump in after trekking up hill for 20 minutes to get to the top of the waterfall. The funniest thing was watching some young monks (in just their shorts) daring each other to swing on a rope, off a rock, out over the stream and drop into the water. From what I could observe, only two of the three swung out on the rope, but all three had been in the water. After a little while, they got out of the water, put on their orange robes, and walked back down the trail! I guess monks just want to have fun – like everyone else. Although the van picked me up at the guest house, it dropped everyone off at an intersection in town just as it started to pour down rain. It was a typical monsoon season storm…rumbling thunder and a heavy rain. I was stuck, so what to do…..get an hour massage and last out the storm! That night I scoped out the elaborate night market and planned out things to buy before leaving. I also planned my next day’s adventure – a full day mountain biking trip.

The bike ride was booty pain causing but really nice. We road on main roads, gravel roads, and small trails. There was a stop in another textile village, which I again supported(!) and lunch on a raised wooden platform in a field. We also took a small boat across a stream to a small village which had no roads. The houses (huts really) were typical, either raised up on stilts or low on the ground (depending on the ethnic group living in it). On the ride back we stopped at a little road side stand and had fresh pineapple. The area was a pineapple producing area and they were everywhere.

The next day I decided to try my skill at being a “mahut” (pronounced mahout) which basically means an elephant handler. On the tour was an Australian family with three kids, one of which was a 12 year old boy. That boy was on the elephant’s neck the entire riding time. We road the elephants around a bit, through the river, and then had time to feed them. Then it was our turn to sit on the elephant and guide them with our kicks to the shoulders….left kick to go right, right kick to go left, and a kick on both shoulders to go straight. I, of course, had an unruly elephant that didn’t want to do what I said, but the real mahut was up behind me, so it was all good. After eating lunch at the elephant reserve, we rode the elephants down to the river. This time I was on the neck and felt as if I was gonna fall off each time the elephant turned its head to grab some leaves or a bush. The experience was cool but quite treacherous especially when we were heading downhill! Once we got to the river, it was really cool as we just sat on the elephants as they bobbed up and down in the water and scrubbed down their necks and head. We all agreed on the ride back into town what a great experience the day had been. I had ridden an elephant a few times before but always from a seat on the back. For most of this, I was riding on the neck and had to get on and off the elephant by stepping on its bent leg and swinging up over the neck. Cool stuff!

I spent the rest of the time in LP just walking around, watching a sunset from a stupa on a hill that overlooks the city, visiting the museum and other monasteries and shopping in the night market.

I flew to the capital, Vientiane, two half day stay which were sandwiched around a night in a hotel the Aussies recommended. The hotel overlooked the Mekong River and a monetary and was quite nice. And to boot, it had probably the most comfortable bed I’ve EVER slept on! I walked around the first afternoon and evening just getting a feel for the place. The city is very laid back compared to other capital cities and feels very small town. There are virtually no high-rise or glitzy buildings, and the pace of life much slower than Bangkok. It was a Saturday night so it was kind of cool to see what the expat and wealthy locals do on a week-end night….get dressed up and go out to eat or to a coffee bar! The next day I had a lot to see and little time and could find no ½ day tour, so I decided to hire a car and driver from the hotel for my time before heading to the airport. That turned out to be the thing to do. I was able to cover much ground and felt that I really say the city. There were other temples (some cool, some gaudy), a museum, and Vientiane’s version of the Arc‘d Triumph. Since it was a Sunday there were a lot of locals just hanging out there and in the nearby park. There were also many monks walking around with umbrellas and talking on mobile phones – which really intrigues me for some reason! I also noticed people sipping some liquid from a plastic bag and I wondered what it was. Before heading to the Buddha Park outside of town, I told the driver to wait while I ‘relieved’ myself and got both of us a Pepsi. There are few cans in Laos, mostly bottles with the vendors so what they do is open up a little plastic bag, put ice in it, pour the Pepsi (or other drink) into it, and stick in a straw! How ingenious!! The bags have holes at the top to put a finger through or as the driver did, to hang from the gear shift when not drinking from the bag. I swear in all my travels in South Asia and Africa I’ve never seen this device being used! The drive to the Buddha Park was nice and relaxing. At the park there were literally hundreds of Buddha and Buddha/Hindu like statues. Had I been there with someone else there would have been ample opportunity to pose like the statues for pictures. As it was the locals were doing just that, so I didn’t feel so bad thinking in this way. Since I couldn’t let the opportunity completely pass me by, I put my hat and sunglasses on one statue and took a picture. The next thing I know I hear this Lao guy laughing and coming over for me to take his picture with the statue I ‘defaced!’ and then others came. It was pretty funny and I (of course) got my picture taken with it. On the way to the airport, I stopped and walked across the Friendship Bridge which spands the Mekong and separates Loa and Thailand. Then it was in the car and off to the airport for the flight back to Bangkok. Overall, it was a great but rather quick trip to Lao. I’ll have to go back to explore more of the country. The country used to known as the Land of a Million Elephants but now is known as the Land of a Million Smiles. That part it true and the people were so nice, friendly, and always quick to smile.

So in closing I’ll say, “Go now to Lao, before it becomes like Thailand!” (which, in my opinion, ain’t so bad!)


After a day in Bangkok doing the usual (plus watching the start of Wimbledon), I returned to Dubai for two days. I started painting my apartment, but after doing one of the three colors that I want to do, I decided to stop and have someone else finish the job once I get back in August! Till the next blog entry…..

Peace.