I'll just start this blog by saying that of all the countries we've visited, my opinions of Laos are probably the most biased. Laos is a sleepy little country that is landlocked by Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Cambodia. The country's name, Laos, is pronounced with the "s", but if you are referring to the culture, you pronounce it as Lao. The country has lush green jungles coating huge rolling hills in the north, which are home to a variety of different hill tribe groups. The south tends to look flatter and drier, and the main transportation links were, until recently, centered mainly around the rivers. In particular, the Mekong cuts right through the heart of the country.
The phrase "laid back" hardly begins to describe the Lao people. According to our guidebook, Lao people believe that too much work can hurt the brain, and that frankly if what you are doing doesn't have some component of fun involved-well, then it's probably not worth doing. They just sort of work on a different time frame...buses leave when they are full, your meals may come an hour after you have ordered, and if you happen to go by an open shop at 11 am but its closed at 11:30-then they've probably decided to take a 2 hour lunch break.
Yet, there are other things in Laos that are practiced diligently and in a timely manner such as alms giving in Luang Prabang, but I'll expand on that later....
We began our adventure into Laos by taking a wooden boat from Thailand across the Mekong into the bordertown of Houay Xai (sort of sounds like 'west side'). Even climbing into boat, you could feel we were entering another country. I had to push in front of a little Lao woman who kept grabbing me and trying to push me aside....for the record, personal space in Laos is very very small. Don't be surprised if you feel a hand pushing you along in line or a drunk old man resting his head on your shoulder on a busride...as long as you take it with a little humor it can be quite entertaining. The Lao people also like to celebrate...change that to really like to celebrate with full bottles of alcohol and karoke in tow. One restaurant was blaring karoke so loudly in Houay Xai that Brian and I actually couldn't talk to one another across the street at the ATM. The Lao know how to have a good time.
Upon arriving in Houay Xai, we were greeted by a very boisterous and loud hotel owner who was ready to book any kind of trip you could want. She was quite funny because she had some sort of system that none of the backpackers could figure out, and she had no sense of time or urgency. So, if you ordered breakfast at 8 am and had a bus to catch at 9 am....well, good luck. She also tended to forget who had paid her and who hadn't or whether she owed you money from earlier.
Regardless, she was very nice and we did manage to catch our bus and eat breakfast. And to no one's surprise, halfway through our minibus ride to Nam Tha the driver and passenger decided it was time to get some soup and try some homemade rice whiskey at a roadside stop....because why wouldn't you be eating noodle soup and drinking homemade whiskey in the middle of the day while en route?
A short busride later, we arrived safely in Nam Tha. We had decided to head north to Nam Tha to do some hilltribe trekking and do a homestay in one of the more remote villages. And after some debate decided that just one night stay would be sufficient. The first day we hiked into the jungle it was hot, humid and filled with bugs. I got stung by some sort of bee twice, swatted at flies an enumerable amount of time, chuckled when our guide got driven out of his bed by ants, and stopped every 5 minutes to check for leeches while hiking. But the villagers were quite kind. A daughter and her mother cooked our dinner (pulling the feathers out of the chicken right in front of us) while the girl roasted eggplants on a bonfire. She also taught us how to use leaves to make sounds like popping bubble gum. But overall, it was a very slow time since we didn't realize we'd reach the village by 2pm and we both neglected to bring books to read or cards to play.
On a day two, we picked up another local villager , who was carrying what looked like a bag of salted small fish to sell in the market to buy medicine for his son who was in the hospital. About an hour into the hike, we were basically clambering up a stream with no trail, and by the time we found a trail the skies had opened up and it was downpouring. The rain didn't matter much to us since we were already drenching wet from the humidity, but the trails went from packed red clay to silky mud slicked death traps. Both Brian and I wiped out numerous times trying to go down the trail. Brian landed smack on his bum one time, and I managed to slip and jam a sharp stick between my toes and slice myself. But, to make a long story short.....perhaps hill tribes are better visited in other areas (Thailand/Vietnam) or with more experienced guides. We wouldn't do it again.
From Nam Tha, we took a 10 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. It was an interesting bus ride (stopping to observe other bus accidents, picking up drunk old men), but I'll spare you the details. We finally arrived in Luang Prabang, which is a city with french colonial roots that is surrounded by two rivers, and it is breathtaking....
At 4 am you will hear the sound of deep bells waking the monks for their morning chants, and at 5:45 you will hear drums beating to let the monks know its time to fill their alms bowls. In Luang Prabang, 400 monks will line up, and walk down the sidewalk to collect rice from the community. Women get up early to make rice EVERY day to give to the monks, so that they will have sustenance for the day. Some of the traditions that you must follow when giving rice to the monks:
a) you must sit so that you are lower than them as they pass as a sign of respect
b) you must kneel so that your feet are not pointed at the monks, as that would be rude
c) women are not allowed to touch a monk
d) and monks can never ask or take from anything from anyone-thus, all food and rice must be gifted to them.
After they walk the street collecting the rice in their alms bowls the monks return to their Wats (temples) to eat. After noon, they are no longer allowed to eat until the next day. Nearly every boy in Laos spends two years in the monkhood. So, you will see monks everywhere...you may even see them at the waterfalls outside of Luang Prabang cooling off on a hot summer day.
The city of Luang Prabang has loads of beautiful gold trimmed temples, beautifully restored colonial wood buildings, and lovely sidewalk cafes serving delicious french and Lao food. It's a great little place to rent a bike for the day or take a day trip to the waterfalls where you can go swimming in milky blue waters. This is probably one of my favorite (if not THE FAVORITE) southeast asian city to visit....highly recommended. Loas maintains its cultural backbone without catering too much to tourist influences...it's amazing.
The phrase "laid back" hardly begins to describe the Lao people. According to our guidebook, Lao people believe that too much work can hurt the brain, and that frankly if what you are doing doesn't have some component of fun involved-well, then it's probably not worth doing. They just sort of work on a different time frame...buses leave when they are full, your meals may come an hour after you have ordered, and if you happen to go by an open shop at 11 am but its closed at 11:30-then they've probably decided to take a 2 hour lunch break.
Yet, there are other things in Laos that are practiced diligently and in a timely manner such as alms giving in Luang Prabang, but I'll expand on that later....
We began our adventure into Laos by taking a wooden boat from Thailand across the Mekong into the bordertown of Houay Xai (sort of sounds like 'west side'). Even climbing into boat, you could feel we were entering another country. I had to push in front of a little Lao woman who kept grabbing me and trying to push me aside....for the record, personal space in Laos is very very small. Don't be surprised if you feel a hand pushing you along in line or a drunk old man resting his head on your shoulder on a busride...as long as you take it with a little humor it can be quite entertaining. The Lao people also like to celebrate...change that to really like to celebrate with full bottles of alcohol and karoke in tow. One restaurant was blaring karoke so loudly in Houay Xai that Brian and I actually couldn't talk to one another across the street at the ATM. The Lao know how to have a good time.
Upon arriving in Houay Xai, we were greeted by a very boisterous and loud hotel owner who was ready to book any kind of trip you could want. She was quite funny because she had some sort of system that none of the backpackers could figure out, and she had no sense of time or urgency. So, if you ordered breakfast at 8 am and had a bus to catch at 9 am....well, good luck. She also tended to forget who had paid her and who hadn't or whether she owed you money from earlier.
Regardless, she was very nice and we did manage to catch our bus and eat breakfast. And to no one's surprise, halfway through our minibus ride to Nam Tha the driver and passenger decided it was time to get some soup and try some homemade rice whiskey at a roadside stop....because why wouldn't you be eating noodle soup and drinking homemade whiskey in the middle of the day while en route?
A short busride later, we arrived safely in Nam Tha. We had decided to head north to Nam Tha to do some hilltribe trekking and do a homestay in one of the more remote villages. And after some debate decided that just one night stay would be sufficient. The first day we hiked into the jungle it was hot, humid and filled with bugs. I got stung by some sort of bee twice, swatted at flies an enumerable amount of time, chuckled when our guide got driven out of his bed by ants, and stopped every 5 minutes to check for leeches while hiking. But the villagers were quite kind. A daughter and her mother cooked our dinner (pulling the feathers out of the chicken right in front of us) while the girl roasted eggplants on a bonfire. She also taught us how to use leaves to make sounds like popping bubble gum. But overall, it was a very slow time since we didn't realize we'd reach the village by 2pm and we both neglected to bring books to read or cards to play.
On a day two, we picked up another local villager , who was carrying what looked like a bag of salted small fish to sell in the market to buy medicine for his son who was in the hospital. About an hour into the hike, we were basically clambering up a stream with no trail, and by the time we found a trail the skies had opened up and it was downpouring. The rain didn't matter much to us since we were already drenching wet from the humidity, but the trails went from packed red clay to silky mud slicked death traps. Both Brian and I wiped out numerous times trying to go down the trail. Brian landed smack on his bum one time, and I managed to slip and jam a sharp stick between my toes and slice myself. But, to make a long story short.....perhaps hill tribes are better visited in other areas (Thailand/Vietnam) or with more experienced guides. We wouldn't do it again.
From Nam Tha, we took a 10 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. It was an interesting bus ride (stopping to observe other bus accidents, picking up drunk old men), but I'll spare you the details. We finally arrived in Luang Prabang, which is a city with french colonial roots that is surrounded by two rivers, and it is breathtaking....
At 4 am you will hear the sound of deep bells waking the monks for their morning chants, and at 5:45 you will hear drums beating to let the monks know its time to fill their alms bowls. In Luang Prabang, 400 monks will line up, and walk down the sidewalk to collect rice from the community. Women get up early to make rice EVERY day to give to the monks, so that they will have sustenance for the day. Some of the traditions that you must follow when giving rice to the monks:
a) you must sit so that you are lower than them as they pass as a sign of respect
b) you must kneel so that your feet are not pointed at the monks, as that would be rude
c) women are not allowed to touch a monk
d) and monks can never ask or take from anything from anyone-thus, all food and rice must be gifted to them.
After they walk the street collecting the rice in their alms bowls the monks return to their Wats (temples) to eat. After noon, they are no longer allowed to eat until the next day. Nearly every boy in Laos spends two years in the monkhood. So, you will see monks everywhere...you may even see them at the waterfalls outside of Luang Prabang cooling off on a hot summer day.
The city of Luang Prabang has loads of beautiful gold trimmed temples, beautifully restored colonial wood buildings, and lovely sidewalk cafes serving delicious french and Lao food. It's a great little place to rent a bike for the day or take a day trip to the waterfalls where you can go swimming in milky blue waters. This is probably one of my favorite (if not THE FAVORITE) southeast asian city to visit....highly recommended. Loas maintains its cultural backbone without catering too much to tourist influences...it's amazing.
The beginning of our trek in Nam Tha region
Okay, not only is this elder woman hauling bamboo in the jungle wearing longsleeves, but she also does it with a silver pipe hanging from her mouth...kudos
Village girl and her dog cooking eggplant over the fire for dinner
Morning time in the Kumbu village
Hmong village that came out to greet us and sell some of their wares
Trekking through the jungle...hot, muggy, and full of leeches
Brian on a bike ride in picturesque Luang Prabang
View from the city of Luang Prabang out to the countryside
Cleaning the streets as the sun goes down.
Palace museum of Luang Prabang had received an interesting gift from the U.S. In the display case was a small Laos flag that had been brought to the moon on Apollo 11, courtesy of president Richard Nixon.
Beautiful old cars lined the streets in this french colonial town (LP)
Buddhist temple
Waterfalls outside LP...a local boy shows us how its done.
Brian taking a go of the ropeswing...check out the monk watching in the background
Quaint streetside cafe (LP)
Handwoven silk tapestries at the night market
Morning alms collection for the 400 monks at the temples..view from our hotel
Local woman showing proper etiquette
