This country, only open to tourists since 1989, is complex, confusing and absolutely wonderful, a joy to visit. Since my first glimpse flying into Luang Prabang in a ‘prop’ plane between the mountain ranges and gazing down onto limitless valleys I fell in love with Laos.
Travelling North to South is easier, Luang Prabang is a gentle, holy site cooled by the mighty Mekong, where the temples control the pace of life and monks make up the highest percentage of the population. Vang Vieng is spectacular; far more than the tubing spot for the younger traveller, a town little developed despite the passing people traffic-so rustic and rural that I should have know it was not the right choice for an eyebrow job!
Vientiane at first is harder to love but winds itself around you like a flower. The city is full of quirkiness and curiosities. Tourism is here but underdeveloped, business is here but there is little development bar the traffic. The architecture demonstrates the nation’s complex past, an intriguing mix of French, Vietnamese, Soviet and now US influences.
A map is impossible to follow here as roads are half finished, leaving me stranded on a dirt track more than once! The morning and night street foods fill the air with delicious smells…alas the Laos people love their meat, so vegetarian food is harder, I am living on sticky rice, noodles, bananas, dried fruit-I crave a lettuce at times, and cheddar cheese-oh how I miss hard cheese now!
Today I went to the Cope Centre to spend a moving morning watching the war against unexploded bombs which still goes on here. As one veteran of an UXE said to me ‘for us the war which never was never ended’. Despite Laos’s neutral status, during the Vietnam War it became the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita and thousands are still to be discovered.
The cost to life is incredibly high. Not least because the trade in scrap metal in the poor rural areas is booming, so children will search for cluster bombs (‘bombies’) to sell. ‘Cope’ is a charity which helps not just with prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation but also to re-educate in the villages, teaching locals not to touch bombies but to report them and wait for teams to make them safe.
These teams now provide work, so instead of growing crops the villages earn money by clearing bombs, dropped either with intent or simply to lighten loads as the aircraft crossed back after missions to Vietnam. Clearing has been even harder as Laos is a county made up of ethnic mixes keeping themselves to themselves, so central organisation is complex.
By noon the heat today is oppressive so the city grinds to a halt. Even swimming in the lovely pool is impossible until 3pm or so. I treat myself to a final Laos massage with oil, a glorious 90 minutes of having every muscle and sinew stretched out.
And tonight one final wander along the river watching the golden orb of the sun drop over Thailand (and then the golden arches of the Thai MacDonald’s come into view opposite, beckoning the faithful; it draws many for regular ‘bridge’ runs from non westernised Laos). Tomorrow I head for Cambodia but Laos has carved a special niche in my psyche, I hope to return to this gentle kind nation one day.
Travelling North to South is easier, Luang Prabang is a gentle, holy site cooled by the mighty Mekong, where the temples control the pace of life and monks make up the highest percentage of the population. Vang Vieng is spectacular; far more than the tubing spot for the younger traveller, a town little developed despite the passing people traffic-so rustic and rural that I should have know it was not the right choice for an eyebrow job!
Vientiane at first is harder to love but winds itself around you like a flower. The city is full of quirkiness and curiosities. Tourism is here but underdeveloped, business is here but there is little development bar the traffic. The architecture demonstrates the nation’s complex past, an intriguing mix of French, Vietnamese, Soviet and now US influences.
A map is impossible to follow here as roads are half finished, leaving me stranded on a dirt track more than once! The morning and night street foods fill the air with delicious smells…alas the Laos people love their meat, so vegetarian food is harder, I am living on sticky rice, noodles, bananas, dried fruit-I crave a lettuce at times, and cheddar cheese-oh how I miss hard cheese now!
Today I went to the Cope Centre to spend a moving morning watching the war against unexploded bombs which still goes on here. As one veteran of an UXE said to me ‘for us the war which never was never ended’. Despite Laos’s neutral status, during the Vietnam War it became the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita and thousands are still to be discovered.
The cost to life is incredibly high. Not least because the trade in scrap metal in the poor rural areas is booming, so children will search for cluster bombs (‘bombies’) to sell. ‘Cope’ is a charity which helps not just with prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation but also to re-educate in the villages, teaching locals not to touch bombies but to report them and wait for teams to make them safe.
These teams now provide work, so instead of growing crops the villages earn money by clearing bombs, dropped either with intent or simply to lighten loads as the aircraft crossed back after missions to Vietnam. Clearing has been even harder as Laos is a county made up of ethnic mixes keeping themselves to themselves, so central organisation is complex.
By noon the heat today is oppressive so the city grinds to a halt. Even swimming in the lovely pool is impossible until 3pm or so. I treat myself to a final Laos massage with oil, a glorious 90 minutes of having every muscle and sinew stretched out.
And tonight one final wander along the river watching the golden orb of the sun drop over Thailand (and then the golden arches of the Thai MacDonald’s come into view opposite, beckoning the faithful; it draws many for regular ‘bridge’ runs from non westernised Laos). Tomorrow I head for Cambodia but Laos has carved a special niche in my psyche, I hope to return to this gentle kind nation one day.
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