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LAOS On Thursday, the 14th of August, we take a local bus from Chiang Rai, Thailand to Chiang Khong, a village on the border with Laos. The two-hour journey is fun. We sit in the back of the bus behind a mountain of boxes, backpacks a baskets with vegetables. :-) The 300 meters wide Mekong river flows along the Thai-Lao border here. We cross the river on a small motor boat and find nice accommodation in a small Lao village. When walking through the village, we have to adjust to the fact that people drive on the right side in Laos (we got used to driving on the left in India and Thailand). Since $1=10,000 Lao kips, we have to fill our packets with many kip banknotes. It is good that Thai baths and US dollars are also widely accepted in Laos. BOAT TRIP ON THE MEKONG RIVER (August
15 - August 16) With a length of 4200km, the Mekong is the longest river
in South-East Asia and the second most biologically diverse river in the
world (after the Amazon). On August 15th in the morning, we set out for a two-day boat trip down the river. The 30 meters long boat with hardwood benches for about 30 passengers is full of tourists. Only a few locals join us on the first day, more of them get on during the second day as we approach the town of Luang Prabang. During the trip, we mostly observe the wonderful hilly landscape around and read books. 70% of Laos is covered with hills and mountain plateaus, the south is flat. We move through the least populated areas of Laos (Laos is about the size of England, but its population equals only one tenth of the British population). We see a small village every 10-15km. People live in simple huts made of wood and leaves. They drink water from the river (sometimes from a dwell or a spring) and eat whatever they manage to grow or catch. They grow rice, corn, fruits and vegetables. One can see small black pigs, chicken and turkey running around the villages. People hunt for fish, rabbits, deer, wild pigs, squirrels and rats. We see children drinking from the same river where women are doing laundry and men are cleaning their motorcycles. Laos is one of the poorest countries of the world. Even though electricity has reached most places, there are still no roads going to the northern villages. One can still find many hill tribes living in total separation in the mountains. LUANG PRABANG
(17. - 18.8. 2003) The town of Luang Prabang is located at the
confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. We land in Luang Prabang on August 16th in late afternoon. We find nice accommodation in the old town center. We visit the Royal Theatre the same evening. During the traditional Lao ballet, men dance in richly decorated costumes and masks. Women wear nice golden headpieces instead of the masks. The dancers are accompanied by 10 musicians and two singers. We marvel at the exotic musical instruments. The ballet is followed by two traditional dances of the hill tribes. During one of the dances, two men and one women lift huge jars with 15 liters of water in their teeth and dance with it! We visit several temples and
the former Royal Palace the next day. The palace's audience rooms are
nicely decorated, but the royal family's quarters are small and very
simple (by European standards). The following day, we rent a motorbike and
explore the surrounding area (within 30km of the town). We fail to make
a hike we planned, since the trek starts by crossing a river. There are no bridges.
We can find somebody to take us to the other side by boat, but we are
not sure there would be anybody to take us back in the evening. So, we at least walk along the river
and see small girls bathing (they leave their skirts on when swimming).
Then we walk through the village. One old man invites us to sit down with
him and offers us tea. We accept and slowly about 15 children and
villagers gather around us. We communicate through sing language only.
One old women complains about her eyes. We notice several women with red
eyes full of tears. We do not know how to help them (we do not have our
eye drops with us). Then both the old men and the women has to try my
glasses. They seem to like them, but I cannot let them keep it.
:-) We thank them for the tea and leave. Not far from the
villages, we come across a burial site. There is a rectangular structure
with 4 low walls. There is an opening on one side through which one adds
wood to the fire. Once we leave the village, we take several side roads (dirt roads) to explore the beautiful valleys. Then we come upon a somewhat touristy village. The villagers take us across the river to a beautiful waterfall. It is not a typical waterfall, actually. It is a series of cascades and pools. Beautiful. Many locals and a few tourists swim here and jump from one of the big stones to the next. We also discover a small limestone cave with wonderful stalactites and explore it with a flash light. It is a nice small adventure. We spend most of the evening talking to the owner of our hotel and his brother about the life in Laos. Note: If we had more time to spend in Laos, we would stay longer in the mountains in the north. VIENTIANE
(19. - 20.8. 2003) On August 19th, we continue south and take a bus to Vientiane. Instead of the planned 7 hours, the journey takes full 11 hours. The clutch is not working properly. We stop several times to fix it, but the driver does not succeed. So, when the driver does not manage to shift gears, he has to stop the bus and then start it using the starter with the 1st gear already in. We make a few huge jumps forward first, then we drive again. Once we stop in the middle of a steep hill and the starter is too week to get us going again. All tourists get out into the rain and push the bus, but it does not help. So, they have to walk up the hill while the bus goes back down, starts there and then makes it up the hill to pick up the tourists. Well, most people take it with humor and we finally make it. Originally
one of the early Lao river-valley meuang (fiefdoms), Vientiane has been
controlled by the Burmese, Siamese, Vietnamese and Khmer, and was made a
capital city by the French - a status it retains in the postcolonial
era. We spent only one day in Vientiane. We visited the former Royal Temple, which has several unique features. It is surrounded by a wall with many small niches that contain more than 2000 Buddha statues (2 statues in each niche). Over 300 mostly Lao-style Buddha images rest on long shelves below the niches. Inside the main temple, there are partially saved paintings on the wall depicting scenes from religious epics. The ceiling was inspired by French castle architecture - it shows lotus flowers in the same fashion one can see rose flowers on the ceilings of European castles. On August 20th in the evening, we cross the river (the border) and return to Thailand. We take a night train to Bangkok. Our plan is to pick up our backpack (we left one in Bangkok and traveled light) and continue to Cambodia. NOTES ABOUT LAOS Even though Laos is a communist country since 1975, religion was never suppressed here (as it was in many formerly communist countries in Eastern Europe). Buddhism is still allowed, even though with a few exceptions/limitations. (We heard that nobody follows the exception rules.) Entrepreneurship and private ownership is also allowed (which it was not the case in Czechoslovakia.) Lao people are very nice. Many are still not influenced by tourism and are willing to openly talk with foreigners. Lao cuisine is similar to the Thai cuisine - rice, noodles, soups. But it is not as spicy hot as the Thai food is. Also, we are served potatoes the first time since we entered Thailand.
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Laos Population: 5,700,000 Population growth: 2.47 % Literacy rate: 72%
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Unfortunately, the governments of China, Laos,
Cambodia and Vietnam are planning to build tens of dams to produce
hydro-electric power. The dams will have a huge impact not only on the
river and its surrounding, but also on the estimated 50 million people
who depend on it for their livelihood. Therefore, we have taken an
opportunity to get to know the Mekong river before it is changed
forever.
The Luang Prabang area was
the site of early Thai-Lao meuang that were established in the high
river valleys. Luang Prabang remained the capital of the Lan Xang
kingdom until 1545. Even after the Lan Xang period, the town was
considered the main source of monarchic power. It wasn't until the
Pathet Lao took over in 1975 (and a communist country was created) that
the monarchy was finally dissolved. Today, Luang Prabang is a sleepy
town with more than a handful of 16th- to 19th-century temples and old
French mansions (often converted into hotels and restaurants) in a
beautiful mountain setting. Observers hope that the town's 1995
ascension to UNESCO World Heritage Sites status will preserve its
historic architecture.
We also hike up a hill in the middle of
the old town. There is a golden stupa (religious tower) on the top. We
have wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and the setting sun
from there.
The casket with the dead body is placed on the top of
the 4 walls, then fire is lit underneath it. Urns with ashes are then
put inside small stupas with engraved names and dates.
It is a classic Indochinese city with an amazing laid-back
atmosphere. In addition to the Lao administration, also the only Lao
university is located here. Vientiane is located approximately in the
middle of Laos, at its western border with Thailand. It is found on the
banks of the Mekong river, which is about 600 meters wide here.