Lazing in Laos

Photos

Back again from yet another exotic holiday (carpe diem!) tanned, relaxed and delighted to find that I only suffered a 30 degree drop in temperature upon my return, rather than a 45 degree drop. It's well and truly above zero in Beijing now, so I have officially survived the winter.

In three weeks I somehow managing to get the four visas I needed for my two week trip. The most expensive one was for Viet Nam , which was a particularly sore point because I was only there for 36 hours! So, my first stop was Viet Nam to meet up with my friend Yvonne and spend a day in Hanoi. She showed me her gorgeous house, I met her fantastic house mates, we ate the most divine French pastries, I drank the best coffee I'd had (to that point), and we sampled delicious Viet Namese cuisine. I do love Beijing but life in Hanoi was something I could definitely get used to!

We then both flew to Vientiane, the Laos capital, to joyfully reunite with our other friend, Nishara. Vientiane is a fantastic place to catch up with friends, previously being a French colony, the Laotians bake the most amazing bread and grow the most fantastic coffee. The recent explosion of tourists has created a niche for the many amazing cafes and fancy French restaurants. Most of them would not be out of place in New York or Paris which I really was not expecting in a country of less that 7 million people, where the GDP is a mere $2200 per person, and 30% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Laos is a very poor country with an estimated 40% of Lao GDP accounted for by foreign aid, so there was a relatively large expat population in country and the presence of international organisations such as the UNDP were noticeable. Though so recently open to the rest of the world, Laos seems to now be firmly on the tourist map; just about every second person I've spoken to has been to Laos and/or Cambodia. Having all happened so fast, most tourist facilities are brand new and are fantastically run. We had found nothing but warm welcomes and beyond-the-call-of duty helpfulness in every guesthouse and we stayed in.

The Laotians were so warm and hospitable, though shy in a way that the belies their relatively recent introduction to visitors. Unlike other countries (China will remain unnamed) there is no fear or mistrust of foreigners, simply a curiosity and a delight in learning about us. And the mood of the country is not just laid-back, it's laaaaaaid-baaaaack. It took me a week to unwind from Beijing-paced frantic-ness but I got there in the end and was limp as a rag doll in a hammock (which I often was) by the time we left.

In Vientiane we went to the War Memorial (described on the plaque as "monster of concrete"), and also the stunning Buddha Park which was full of rather unique Hindu and Buddhist statues. Most notable was definitely the large pumpkin shaped building filled with statues, which had a huge spike on top and a ferocious mouth for a door, giving you the impression of being swallowed into the belly of a beast. And my personal favourite, a statue of Buddha pulling off the leg of a giant, unprotesting cricket.

We then headed North to the stunning scenery of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World-Heritage listed site. We took an over-night bus through the mountains, and sleeping through the journey was a very good idea I think. I woke up in the middle of the night and made the mistake of looking out the front window: the fog was thick as French Onion soup and the road was twisty and narrow. Unfortunately the video screen is small but if you want to see the video of it, it's here.

Arriving safe and sound, we went to huge waterfall (the first a dozen we were to see in Laos), but the highlight of our time there had to be our trip to the Elephant Park. With out lovely guide On, we cycled the 30kms round trip and I am proud to say that I kept up with him the whole way, and there were some very steep climbs! It was the first time I've ridden one but I'm now totally in love with mountain bikes and really want one. Next stop, cycling up Black Mountain!

As the name alludes, we went to the park for an elephant ride, which at first I was little apprehensive about. Parts of Asia have dubious attitudes to animal rights but we chose a park that label themselves as "Eco-tourism" and rescue elephants from logging companies. We were assured that the money goes back into the programme so our consciences allowed us to see Laos the way it should be seen: on the neck of an elephant, rambling along the Mekong River, sun shining from a bright blue sky and singing songs with the elephant handler.

The actual city of Luang Prabang is quite beautiful, with colonial architecture being scattered amongst the traditional style buildings. Built at the joining of the Khan and Mekong Rivers, the scenery is stunning, especially from the top of Mount Phosi where we went to watch a gorgeous sunset (the first of a dozen we were to see in Laos).

Our next stop was south to Pakse, where we went on a two day hike through National Protected Forests and coffee plantations to the Bolaven Plateau. Our guide, Sak, grew up on a coffee farm so taught us all there is to know about Laos coffee. And I thought the Viet Namese coffee was good... it had nothing on Laos coffee! Thick as molasses and so fresh, we all had caffeine buzzes like we'd never buzzed before. Fantastic. We saw more beautiful waterfalls and experienced life in a remote village, calling out to everyone we met. "Sabadee!" is the Laos word for hello, and it's one of the loveliest sounding greetings I've ever heard. Laos is a tonal language and there is a high rising inflection at the end, which makes it charming in a way I can't explain it in words.

But nowhere is immune to the horrors of development for long, and on the way back into the city after our hike we were greatly saddened to see a construction site that Sak told us was going to be a casino. At our horrified reactions, he asked us to explain what a casino was. We did, and we watched his face fall. "That's not good," he said gravely, "that is not a good thing." No, we agreed sombrely, it is not. I don't know why but I felt somewhat responsible for this monstrosity being built, like my presence there was part of the invasion of the outside world. It's a cliche but a poignant one: the sad irony that travellers coming to experience a country still true to itself and relatively unchanged by the outside world, brings the outside world in with it.

Next update continues with our journey further South through Laos and across to Cambodia and the wonder of Angkor Wat...