Cem and Tam's Trip

Laos - Same, Same ... but Different

3/26/03 - 3/28/03

Floating down the Mekong River for two days was definitely one of the more relaxing parts of our trip to date. We actually had two choices to choose from to get to Luang Prabang, either take the fast boat(basically a large canoe shaped boat with about six seats in it and equiped with a speed boat engine) with same day service, or the slow boat (a much bigger boat with about 30+ seats) which does the trip over two days with an overnight stop. Every time a fast boat overtook us on the river, I thought to myself how glad I was that we opted for the slow boat. The fast boat is extremely, extremely loud. (Tam: you are either stupid or need a hefty dose of courage and resilience to withstand 8 hours of bone-jaring, heart-pumping action) And due to the number of fast boat accidents (impact with rocks, logs in the river, other boats, etc.), the customers actually have to wear helmets and lifejackets.

Our trip was also good from the perspective of getting to meet other travelers, many of who we later ran into in other portions of our Lao trip. Its always helpful to be able to exchange tips and suggestions with other fellow travelers. We actually ended up traveling with Susan (a Canadian in the TV business), Steve (a graphic designer from London) and Gavin (an ex-BT engineer) for a good portion of the rest of our Laos trip. A very easy to get along with group of people. I hope we can run into them at some late stage.

I think one of the highlights for me of this trip was the several stops we did in Lao villages along the way. These were definitely very "authentic" Lao and Hilltribe villages without any concrete structures. We definitely got starred at quite a bit, they seemed to be just as curious about us as we were of them. It was great walking through the village and exchanging greetings with people. Unfortunately, after the ferry ride, we never really ventured into any other small villages throughout our stay in Laos. (Tam: Scenes of rural life: We actually saw women spin cotton by hand and weave intricate patterns of cloth. At another village, most of the women and children were repairing their homes with bamboo strips they had prepared.)

Probably the one thing we could have done without during the two-day trip was the overnight stop at Pakbeng. Sketchy little town at the half way point. First of all, the food was bad, a very rare occurrence on this trip period. It also seemed that about 1/3 of the town's residents tried to sell us opium. These guys were really sketchy looking! Even if I had been interested in trying it out, I was pretty turned off by the people selling it.

One of my first impressions of Laos? Laos is slowly waking up from a long, long slumber. Everything in Laos is very slow paced. We took the main road (really the main highway in the country) between Luang Prabang and Vientiane and the lack of traffic was really noticeable. The interesting thing is that they maintained, the majority of the buildings built by the French, from when Laos was part of France's French Indochina. That and many of the ancient Wats there was one of the main reasons that the town of Luang Prabang was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That means a lot of money from international organisations as well as future restrictions on the development of the historic district of Luang Prabang. (Tam: hopefully....so far a multi-storey hotel was built right in the middle of the historic city, despite push from the international community)

3/28/03 - 3/31/03

Tam: Luang Prabang, the old royal capital of the Lao kingdom, is a charming colonial city steeped in temples and cultural riches. In fact, UNESCO, after a preliminary study of the SE Asia, declared it a World Heritage Site for its many grand temples and some of the best-preserved colonial buildings. For me, I was glad to finally back on terra firma, after two days journeying down the mighty Mekong river. Stepping off the boat, I could easily imagine what it was like 100-150 years ago. Time has stopped for Luang Prabang. Pace of life is very slow. Time moves very slowly. There is a mellowness to the inhabitants. And best of all, very little traffic. After Thailand, this is a relief!

After spending the day wandering around the ornate temples and admiring the architecture of Lao temples (there is a clear influence of Lao architectural features on Northern Thailand's temples), we treated ourselves to a wonderful restaurant dishing up French-influenced Lao cuisine in a restored colonial building. Cem tried wild buffalo steak (Cem tried deer steak in Pak Beng. I scolded him for contributing to the demand for endangered wildlife!). I sampled the house specialty, a souffle of egg, fish, and coconut milk steamed in a banana leaft. Absolutely mouthwatering! And the watercress salad and dressing - to die for! Actually Luang Prabang had the best selection of Lao cuisine and the best food in all of Laos! We certainly can attest to this. I would have been very happy if this was all that the city had to offer - that's how good the food was!

Fortunately for me, the city also offered a great shopping opportunity. Besides dragging Cem to the night market where many hilltribe village women sell their handicraft and hand-woven textiles, Cem succumbed to my pleadings to visit several silver shops, including one that makes items for the Thai royal family. Needless to say, we picked up a few souvenirs here.

The next day, Cem and I took a day trip to a nearby waterfall, Kuang Si waterfall. The waterfall is one of the most spectacular waterfalls I've been to so far. And this is dry season, nevertheless. I just can't even contemplate the beauty of this waterfall at the end of the wet season!

Cigarette Tax on the Journey to VV

From Luang Prabang, we hired a minibus to Vang Vieng. Several curiousities struck me. First, the road was well-maintained, probably newly paved. I wasn't expecting this from one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Second, for such a major highway, there was hardly any traffic. Third, our driver kept on throwing small packets of 5 cigarettes to armed men standing or sitting by the side of the highway, sometimes in military gear, sometimes not. At first, I couldn't understand if the men were guerillas or if the men were Lao military. A few weeks ago, there was an incident where the guerillas sprayed a bus and 2 foreign cyclists, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, were also sprayed by the bullets. After a while, Cem determined that they were part of the Lao military. And we put the cigarettes down as a sort of "tax" - either that or sympathy to the military men (highly doubtful...). Besides these oddities, the road was beautiful. Towering mountains, green valleys, small villages consisting of traditional bamboo stilt houses by the roadside. A wonderfully spectacular scenic ride!

Bombs Away... Laos, a country we know so little about. Do many Americans know that the United States dropped a half ton of bombs per every Lao citizen and that this earns Lao the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country in the world on a per capita basis?

Top Ten... Laos is one of the poorest ten countries in the world with its 2002 per capital income less than $300. (Current population is about 5.5 million.) The economic difference between Thailand and Laos is immediately apparent as soon as you cross the border. The communist experiment has failed for Laos like it has failed everywhere else. Now that the government has started to liberalize, you definitely see an increase in economic activity. At least in the tourist destinations such as Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and to a lesser extent Vientiane. In response to this slowly liberalizing trend in Laos, the international community has been responding with increased aid. In fact, currently about 45% of the national budget is supported by foreign aid. (You see a lot of Toyota Landcruisers in Vientiane which seems to be the car of choice for UN, EU etc.)

Buddhism in Laos... Definitely seems to be a lot more lax than in Thailand. We witnessed a lot of precepts being broken (like drinking, singing and listening to music) that you would never see in Thailand. After speaking with several monks, my conclusion is that many people in Laos join monasteries more for the education that it provides (including English), then for any strong beliefs they may hold. (Tam: However, the Lonely Planet guidebook states that Laotians don’t particularly hold education in high esteem.)

Rush Hour Traffic... Rush hour traffic is when school lets out and hordes of children on bicycles take to tearing down the street. I tried very hard to make it sound horrific, but I think I failed miserably. That’s because there is no traffic nightmare in Laos.

Relaxed, Laid Back... The Lao people have a saying, “Too much thinking hurts the head.” The Lao people seemed to be very relaxed – might have to do with a special local herb that is made from California’s state flower. Everyone goes to and fro at a leasiurely pace. There’s no hustling and bustling that you find in Thailand or Vietnam. One of the first thing I noticed, besides the apparent economic disparity between Laos and Cambodia, was how quiet Laos was, especially at night.

Going Out.... Having a late night in Lao is an anomaly. There is a curfew – around midnight – in the country. I couldn’t figure out if this was a “real” curfew or if the Lao people just don’t like working late. I am convinced that Laotians don’t like to work. I mean who does.... Every time, Cem and I decided to go out for a drink with some friends, we had wake up one of the guesthouse’s staff. Even though it was only 10 or 11 or 11:30, the staff was usually fast asleep. It took some time to get used to the “way things are”.

Karaoke... Lao people have taken to Karaoke. While I was having dinner in VV, a Lao family sat down and immediately started to “party”. That is, they switched the music to some “Karaokesque” music and began a paltry attempt to sing along. It was quite amusing to watch, if it weren’t for the bad music. We even embarrassed our hotel manager in Vientiane as we caught him singing Karaoke songs alone in the hotel dining area in the dark (after dinnertime).

Vang Vieng

3/31/03 - 4/3/03

What to say about Vang Vieng... Definitely a rather chill and relaxing stop on our trip. Partly because I think we needed the break and partly because one of our traveling companions, Susan, got sick, we ended up staying here far longer then we originally planned. Vang Vieng is basically a small town at about the half way point between Luang Prabang. (Although only about 170 km from Vang Vieng, the trip took nearly 6 hours.) The town is situated next to the Nam Song river which flows along a limestone mountain range with many caves. This obviously creates some fantastic views, both from inside and areas around the town.

Vang Vieng is definitely no longer a traditional Lao town. More of a backpackers haven than anything else. The main street of the town has bars, pizza joints and other restaurants that generally play electronic music. (Tam: In fact it was hard to find Lao food in this Westernized backpackers’ haven.) But yet somehow (perhaps because of the great scenery, abundance of outdoors activities available and the cheap fruit shakes) it definitely brings out the relaxed in just about everyone. But as every where else in Laos, general curfew is at midnight for everyone, Lao and tourist alike. Definitely one of the oddest stops we done.

Unfortunately Susan, one of our traveling companions since we entered Laos, got a mild case of food poisoning, which became more serious when she collapsed from dehydration early one morning. Really not sure where all of the foreign aid money in Laos is going, but it sure isn’t going to their healthcare system. The hospital was not only anything but sterilized/hygienic, after hooking her up on an IV, it was impossible to track down anyone with medical training thereafter to inquire after her status. Anyway, the fortune thing was that we took her out of the hospital by the evening and she was already feeling much better the next day. It definitely makes you think about the risks of travel in the third world. God forbid a traffic accident etc.

Anyway, to end this on a positive note, our last day their a big group of us did a tubing trip down the Nam Song River. For those of you unfamiliar with this, its basically floating down a river, relaxing on an inner tube of a tractor tire. A truly relaxing and enjoyable experience. And of course in true Lao fashion, their were little bars and restaurants down most of the river, many of them floating themselves. (Tam: It was quite an experience to be pulled in by bamboo sticks to their “floating bars”)

At about the half way point, we pulled into one of the restaurants, which was also at the gate of one of the larger caves in the area. A group of us walked in to explore it. And explore it up and down we did. It was only about two hours later that we were able to find our way out again! I will have to admit, with all of us pretty low on battery power, I did start to get pretty worried. But I figured that Tam, who had not come with us, had probably sounded the alarm by now. Well, not quite, when we finally came out, I found Tam rather relaxed and playing a game of cards with some of the locals. Not sure just how much time would have to have passed before she got worried! (Tam: In my own defense, it was only about 1 ½ hours. I figured that they stopped to take a break. And the locals weren’t worried. So I figured I shouldn’t be either. I had loads of fun eating, gambling, and smoking with the locals. For those of you who don’t know me, I actually don’t smoke. However, it was hard to communicate this to the locals, and I was “peer-pressured” by the locals. Had to look “cool” while I gambled with the big boys....)

We continued afterwards down the rest of the river with breathtaking scenery. Closer to town, we were accosted by children who literally demanded money. These are some of the bad effects tourism can have on a developing country. I had heard earlier how one of these innocent looking, but annoying nonetheless kids had escaped with someone’s bag. So I picked up a floating stick and held it up in my hand. Apparently there is nothing better to keep unwanted children away then a serious look and a stick at hand! Tam: Vang Vieng, or VV as I like to think of it, is full of life. Ironically, “vivi” is the latin stem for life. Viva VV!

We finally left the next morning and took a bus to Vientiane...

4/3/03 - 4/5/03

Tam: After the headiness and intoxication of VV, we traveled south to the present Lao capital, Vientiane. What a sleepy backwater place! I couldn't even believe it was a capital city! It was so small and sleepy! So provincial! (And to think I thought that Dublin was provincial....Vientiane revised my definition of "provincial"!) It didn't even have any traffic, for goodness sake! Good thing there wasn't much to see and do, since it was so hot and humid! And this is coming from the girl who spent the past 2 months in hot and humid weather! After the first night, I told Cem to pack up because we were moving to an AC room!

A major question that plagued us was whether we should continue on to Vietnam as planned. Our original intention was to fly to Hanoi. We decided to play it safe by postponing our decision , wait to see what develops, and travel first to Cambodia...