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Map of Laos |
| Laos is a landlocked country
sitting between Burma and Vietnam, and north of Thailand (check the map!).
It is one of the most mysterious and isolated countries in South-East
Asia, with a turbulent recent past since gaining independence from the
French in 1949. Laos has the dubious distinction of being the most bombed
country in the world, for during the Vietnam War, US planes dumped their
unused bombs as they flew back from air raids. Much of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail, used by the Vietnamese Communists to ferry arms and supplies to
their comrades in the south, is also located in the isolated easternmost
provinces of Laos. It was into this region that I crossed over from Vietnam.
I appeared to be the only foreigner - nay, the only person, crossing the border at Lao Bao that day. After finding my way to the nearest village, which was really just a small collection of shacks, I quickly decided to find my way out again. Unfortunately the last bus to Savannahket, the nearest big town and a day's drive away, had left much earlier in the day. Fortunately, I bumped into a Japanese backpacker in the street who would be my saviour of the day. He spoke no English but managed to negotiate with a Lao truck driver a lift for both of us, that day, to Savannahket. It was the most amazing journey, sitting high up in the cab of this truck with a rather bemused Lao truckie blaring out Lao pop music. The road was unpaved, the country heavily jungle-fied, and settlements few and far between. This really is a very remote part of the world! In this area there are apparently large amounts of discarded US tanks and military equipment left behind to the jungle after operations during the war in neighbouring Vietnam. We arrived in Savannahket at night, covered in red dust, our eyes blinking to the lights of civilisation. Savannahket is a small town in south-central Laos, sitting on the Mekong river. Many of the buildings date from French colonial times and the streets are set out in a grid fashion. It was my first introduction to the friendly people of Laos, and everywhere I went in the town children would cry out 'Sawasdeeee!' (hello) to me. I also discovered early on that anyone over the age of 40 is bilingual: they all speak fluent French, a leftover from the days of French Indochina (although this was no good to me!). I ate every day in the local caf, always the only customer, where Country n' Western songs would blare out constantly, and the owner had the highest quiff in South East Asia. There's plenty to see in southern Laos, but I knew I'd have to travel alone to see it, and this was a pretty isolated part of the country. Plus I'd heard of a malaria outbreak in the area of a Hundred Islands, so decided to head right up to the capital, Vientiane. I shared the bus ride with a Danish guy and we were subjected to the delights of Laotian roadside food - barbequed cockroaches and other assorted bugs, sold on kebab sticks, seemed to be the speciality. At lunchtime, a Japanese guy opened up a fried banana leaf (much food in South East Asia is cooked and served like this) to reveal barbequed scaly reptile, skin intact. As we neared the capital Vientiene, I expected the traffic and people flow to become heavier. However, hardly anyone seemed to be around - but I soon discovered this is normal for Vientiene. It has a population of only 150,000 and even the central city square is deserted on a Friday night - very surreal. There is quite a thriving community of European expats in Vientiane, and consequently a surprising array of places to eat. I enjoyed my first pizza and bottle of red wine (not all to myself) in a small French restaurant, with a bill of about $5. This is about as expensive as a meal can possibly get in Laos. There's a very rustic 'sauna' in the grounds of a Wat just outside Vientiane, where all the locals go. You are given an orange robe to change into and sit in a wooden shack above a raging fire of wood and herbs. It was the hottest place I've ever been - although the locals seemed much more hardy to it than us Europeans. Vang Vieng Vang Vieng is a few hour's north of Vientiane. On the bus on the way up there I met Nigel and Debbie and three other English guys who had also only just met. 'Nige' was shaven-headed, covered in tatoos and very outspoken. He managed to joke with and entertain the locals on the bus, making the journey seem much shorter. Vang Vieng (see photo) is a small town just waking up to the novelty of backpackers and tourism. It is known for its limestone cliffs and picturesque setting by the river. I spent a few days here hanging out with my new-found friends. One of the highlights was rubber-ring riding down the river - a shop in town gives you a heavy-duty ring, and you catch a tuk-tuk upriver, scramble down the bank and let the torrent take you back to town. Bang lassies1 beforehand are optional. There are also caves worth exploring. I hired a bike with an English guy wanting to explore this cave that had only just been 'discovered.' It was way out of town, and half an hour's trek up a creek through thick jungle. Our guide suddenly turned up when we reached the cave, a little old man who handed us old-fashioned torches with batteries attached, and led us down a ladder into the cave. I will never enter a cave again. The 'tour' was meant to last half an hour. We were in there for two hours, our torches died until we only had one between three of us, the guide then dropped his, and, despite giggling like a maniac, he managed to retrieve it. Otherwise we'd probably still be in there. Mud and huge spiders were everywhere (I hate spiders). Our guide, we quickly surmised, was stoned or on opium as he seemed completely lost. When he finally led us out into fresh air, I am still convinced it was only by chance he found the exit. Never again! |
The river by Vang Vieng Click to enlarge |
Looking over the grounds of a Wat, Vang Vieng Click to enlarge |
|
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang used to be the royal capital of Laos. It is now a World Heritage Site mainly because there are 30 pre-colonial Wats2 within the town (see photo). Luang Prabang is situated in a fork of the Mekong River and one of it's tributaries. Many of the houses are made of teak wood, and the town retains a dreamy timeless atmosphere. There are plenty of small riverside cafes where you can sit with a Lao beer and watch the Mekong meander by. In Luang Prabang I met up with Alison from Canada, Jamie from Scotland and Richard from Holland. When travelling you meet many eccentric people, and Richard was a case in point. Great guy, although completely out there! Richard is 6ft 5"" tall, with a very alternative view on life. He developed a huge valium habit (pharmacies in Laos will sell you pretty much anything) as well as caning pretty much everything else that was on offer. There is plenty to see in Luang Prabang. The many-tiered Phouk Si waterfalls are well worth a visit - you can climb up through the jungle to one of the pools at the top, and peer over the waterfall to the other levels below. The picture here is on the way back, crammed into a tiny tuk-tuk. |
 Luang Prabang Wat Click to enlarge |
 Stuck in the back of a tuk tuk Click to enlarge |
We heard that the hilltribe village of Muang Singh,
in northern Laos, was a good place to visit, and decided to travel up there together.
The two-day trip turned into a constant changing of transport types, from tuk-tuks to trucks, but the journey is
well worth it. Muang Singh is a small town surrounded by many Hmong hilltribe villages. It is very near the
Chinese border and has a rather dirty market selling old Chinese currency and tacky toys.
Here I staying in the cheapest room I ever found travelling - the equivalent of 50p for a small double with
curtains (curtains!) Some visitors get pissed off with all the hilltribe women coming into town to hawk clothes
and hand-made goods, but they were all very good-natured and as interested to talk to us as sell to us. Richard in particular
was a huge hit, chiefly because he towered above them and yelled at the top of his voice. He ended up buying a complete
hilltribe outfit, with decorated jacket and baggy trousers. Nice.
One day Alison and I cycled to the Chinese border. We tried to sneak across, but the border guards just weren't
buying it. We also took day trips out to the hilltribe villages, it as almost as if they'd never seen visitors
before. The children were so fascinated by us, yet most were too shy to talk to.
 Water buffaloes are used throughout Laos for transport and farming click to enlarge  Opium fields in northern Laos click to enlarge Opium is very openly on sale in these northern villages. Many of the locals are addicted, and it is grown in quantity here as the crop is so much more lucrative than rice or maize. Out of interest... it is around 50p for a pipe, say two or three is a night's worth. After Muang Singh we all decided to leave and cross back into Thailand, at a place where the Lao, Burmese and Thai borders meet across the Mekong River This area is in the heart of the Golden Triangle, the world's largest single area of opium production. The morning was spent driving to the border in the back of a pickup truck. We had to stop a couple of times as the road had been washed away by rain. We passed a group of hilltribe men out hunting, their long rifles slung over their shoulders. Unknown to me, the village where we would catch a boat down to the Thai border was where the most opium passes through in any one single location - it is transported from Laos into Thailand and China and refined into heroin or kept as it is. We waited on the banks of the Mekong for a couple of hours, the next part of our journey dependent on one of the river speedboats coming along to pick us up. In the end, our group had to separate, as we drew lots for the first boat. I went with Richard and Jamie while the others were left behind. We expected to meet up, but never saw each other again! Tall spaced Richard, having necked about 10 valium tablets, was propped up at the front of the boat, rain mac billowing in the wind. We were quite worried, as the driver couldn't see where he was going because of this, and these open-air speedboats are notorious for high-speed crashes. However, we reached the border in one piece and crossed over back into Thailand, and so-called 'civilisation'! |
| Links |
| Alison's South-East Asia journal - we travelled together through Laos for a bit, check out her reports |
|
1. Bang Lassies, I soon found out, are 'da herb' milkshakes, usually very strong and disgusting to drink.
2.Wat - Thai and Lao and Cambodian name for a temple/Buddhist monastery. |
| Šusethebuddha.productions2002 |