Where’s Megan?

Not lousy at all, Laos has been a nice change from the hassle and hectic cities of the rest of Southeast Asia. So what do you know about Laos? If you’re like me, exactly nothing. It’s like the middle child, always ignored. But here’s what I learned:

• Lao people have a well-deserved reputation for being relaxed and very friendly.
• Only 4% of the land is usable for crops, mostly rice.
• Instead of hearing calls of “Hello!” to tourists as in many other countries, everyone says the Lao greeting, “sabaidee”, which is a nice change.
• Although the country’s name was never officially uttered, it was the subject of the “Secret War” during the Vietnam War. Two million tons of bombs were dropped in the country, amounting to a half-ton per person. It was also the most expensive U.S. mission ever, costing $2 million per day during 9 years. Good thing it never happened…

OK, enough facts, on to pictures and stuff:

I arrived in Vientiane, which has to be the most quiet capital city on earth. It was a nice place to rest up from the ‘bus journey from hell’, but so relaxing I didn’t take any pictures. It was a lovely city, in any case.

I headed north to Vang Vieng, an odd little town that reminds me of a Colorado.

The main activity is floating down the river on an intertube, stopping at makeshift bars. I took a trip to a cave, where we tubed inside, pulling our way along a rope. The water was very high so we had little headroom, but it was actually quite fun. That small opening behind me is the entrance. In order to see in the cave, we were issued hand-crafted headlamps with 10 lb batteries strapped to us as we entered the water.

The words “dork” and “stupid” come to mind.

Then we spent the rest of the day kayaking back to town. It was a pleasant trip with great scenery and a couple of fun rapids.

The strangest thing about Vang Vieng is that almost every restaurant in town has a TV playing Friends episodes. Great if you love Friends, but hell for the rest of us who can’t escape hearing a constant “I’ll be there for you…”

Returning to reality, at least slightly, I visited the city of Luang Prabang. The entire town is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means that it’s been well-preserved since its French colonial past. This makes it seem a bit out of place as well, being covered with picket fences, tree-lined streets, and definitely-not-traditional-Lao buildings. But it was still a nice city to spend a couple days, walking around and visiting temples.

It’s also a popular place for monks to study. Here are a few enjoying a view from the hill:

I have to admire the creativity and design of the local transport:

I sat and had a long lunch near the riverside,

where I was joined by a shell-less snail,

and a gecko that crawled up my leg.

My final stop in Laos was the town of Luang Namtha, where I did a strenuous trek through the forest and fields to visit a local village.

Even though it just about killed me, we did have some gorgeous views.

And more bloody leeches!! (Pardon my British, but this time it’s literal). I didn’t have the special leech-proof socks this time, so I discovered that they can penetrate regular socks, and 5 did so and enjoyed my tasty blood. My shoes also discovered the full meaning of “rainy season”:

We finally arrived at the village, where we were subjected to lots of shy yet curious kids.

The girls were especially shy, but I caught them (just barely) looking at their photo in another person’s camera.

This was one of only two villages of the Sida tribe, and most of the adults were in town at the market or out hunting. We sat and had some giant cucumber, and were shown this crazy-looking river fish.

And that was it for my time in Laos. I’m heading up to China tomorrow, which should be a whole new adventure. I would make a note about the Laos cuisine, but there isn’t much of one. There is one national dish which is good, but the rest of the local specialties didn’t seem to appetizing.. fried river moss, anyone? Or paste made with dried buffalo-skin?

Or whatever this is?

I have no idea, but he’s much too cute to eat. I guess with only 4% farmable land, you get creative.

Tags: Laos, Travel

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