October in Thailand brought the first school break of the year as well as my first real vacation since arriving in Thailand so many months ago. I live a couple hours from the border of Laos in the northeast of Thailand, and I decided I wanted to explore a little bit and make my way through Laos for a couple weeks. This post will likely be long because of how amazing I think my trip was and just how much I loved Laos, so if you want the short version it goes like this: started in Chiang Rai with my friend and fellow PCV Joel where we took a slow boat for two days to Luang Prabang; spent 4 days in LP, after which Joel headed back to Thailand and I headed out on my own; took a gorgeous, yet slightly nausea-inducing minivan ride to Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars and learned a lot about the Secret War; took another similar minivan ride to Vang Vieng for a couple days for tubing before heading back to Thailand through Vientiane. But that just doesn't do it justice.
I started the trip in Chiang Rai (Thailand's northernmost province) where I met my friend Joel and we went to visit another PCV's site and celebrate Ork Pansaa, or the end of Buddhist Lent. The PCV we visited lives in a community of hilltribes that have a more unique way of celebrating this holiday than many other places in Thailand. The main celebration day included quantities of fireworks that would rival any American 4th of July celebration, rockets, and more fireworks....and the thing that makes them all the more exciting (dangerous), Thai whiskey. It was really cool to be in another volunteers community and see a celebration like this, plus it was just awesome and fun. I was even able to do some of my own fireworks (little ones like sparklers and stuff, but still - I'm more excitable than a child when it comes to these things). We also combined our efforts to make two exceptionally delicious dinners (tacos! and fried chicken with mashed potatoes - real ones). It's amazing how delicious these things can be when you seldom get to eat them anymore.
Transporting the fireworks
Dancing in the fireworks
After a very brief visit to the northernmost point of Thailand and a glance at Burma, Joel and I took a 2 day slow boat trip from Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang, Laos. The first day we traveled for about 6 hours on the boat before stopping in Pak Beng, a riverside village to sleep for the night. The scenery the first day was amazing, even with a few downpours. We found a place to stay for the night and went out for dinner, where we ate some seriously delicious Thai/Laos food and enjoyed one of the many Beer Lao that would be had over the next two weeks (Beer Lao is so much better than any beer you'll find in Thailand, and the dark Beer Lao is even better). The next morning we set out for another 6-7 hours on the boat. The scenery was even more amazing and despite having several entertainment options for passing the time, I was completely content to enjoy the increasingly beautiful scenery while devouring my sandwiches (oh the sandwiches...to which I could - and probably should - dedicate an entire blog post...but instead I'll show you some pictures of my sandwiches and a few of the places where I ate them a little later). Each little village we passed or stopped at was small, remote, beautiful, and had a bunch of naked little kids playing in the water and staring at our boat full of farangs (foreigners).
Myanmar - so close, yet so far. You can see the flags change halfway over the bridge
Boat scenery
Pak Beng - where we stopped overnight on the boat trip
Setting out for day 2 on the boat
A man and his elephant...Laos is the 'land of a million elephants' and this was the first of 3 I saw on the trip (I probably saw a million cows, water buffalo, and goats though)
More boat scenery...every so often we'd stop at these villages to pick up local passengers and their cargo as the river is their main source of transportation
Luang Prabang included more amazing scenery, a hike to the top of a small 'mountain' in town to watch the sunset, a super early wake-up to observe the morning monk 'tak bat' procession, a day trip to an incredibly amazing waterfall, a rainy day with lots of coffee and people watching, shopping at the night market, and of course many sandwiches. Interesting fact about Laos: they have a government curfew of midnight. All business (including bars) close at 11:30 in order to allow employees to make it home before midnight. Of course every rule has its exceptions, and each of these towns had (at least) one establishment that stayed open later in order to cater to the party-loving foreigners. Each morning starting at sunrise in Luang Prabang all the local monks and villagers participate in the 'tak bat' ceremony where the monks travel by foot around town collecting food from people seated along the streets. It's part of Buddhist culture and has become somewhat of a spectacle for tourists, so much so that signs are everywhere informing people how to respect the ceremony and the monks. I got up early one morning to see it, and while it was cool to see all the monks lined up in their orange robes walking silently through the streets of this gorgeous little town, it was sad to see all the tourists that seemed more concerned about getting great pictures than being respectful of the monks, the local people, and the ceremony.
View of LP from the top of Mount Phousi
Night market street
Morning monk procession
Signs like this are all over LP and clearly not always followed
Procession of monks and the disrespectful (in so many ways) tourists
Kuang Si Falls
Swimming area: off to the left was a tree with a rope to swing into this. Also it had a bunch of those crazy fish that suck on your toes.
After one more day in Luang Prabang than I originally intended, I headed out solo to Phonsavan which, on the map looks relatively close, but given the terrain of the roads of Laos, took about 6 hours. Phonsavan is a town located near the Plain of Jars sites and includes a lot of history about the Secret War with America. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita. Much of Laos is still littered with UXO's (unexploded ordinances) from the Secret War and people still get injured/killed by them. An organization called the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is working daily to locate and remove/explode the UXO's. Many people in the surrounding areas have limited the amount of land usage, development and cultivation due to UXO accidents or fear of continued injury from them, which contributes to the existing poverty in Laos. Many of the victims of accidental UXO detonations are kids, due to exploring, digging, playing, or just going to school. The first day I was able to explore some of the Plain of Jars sites. The 'jars' are associated with prehistoric burial practices and have been found in clusters throughout the areas around Phonsavan (for more info
check this out ). The first site I went to was the largest site that had the most number of jars. It also had a small cave nearby and several craters from bombings during the war. I explored one other jar site (which was a lot more secluded than the first, but smaller), some small villages in the area that use the metal scraps to make spoons and jewelry, and a cave that served as a refuge for almost 300 people but was then subsequently bombed and all the people died. It's a pretty somber place, and being the only visitor there at the time (or anytime recently, from what it looked like) was a little unsettling/creepy/weird/scary. Interested in learning more about the Secret War in Laos (you should be)? Check out these links I included to give you a start (or you could just, you know, google it because there's a lot to learn):
Legacies of War: Secret War in Laos and
Laos still under attack from Secret War.
The entire experience in Phonsavan was pretty sad, from seeing the bomb craters and broken jars to reading personal accounts of UXO injuries and learning how much Laos people are still suffering casualties and hardships because of what happened. The Plain of Jars are being considered for UNESCO World Heritage status, considering their historic value and also the damage that has been and continues to be caused by nature, development, disrespectful tourists, etc. MAG is in the process of clearing these areas of UXO's and the signs for areas that have been cleared/areas that should be avoided are marked all over the area.
Jar Site 1
MAG marker - these were everywhere, marking boundaries where they've cleared UXOs
Signs at each jar site indicating dates of clearance, how many UXOs cleared, and warning people to stay on marked paths
Jar Site 3
The next morning I headed to Vang Vieng which, up until a few years ago, used to be known as the 'backpackers meet spring break in a small town in Laos - with tubing and lots of booze'. It's been known for tubing and the bars and party scene that existed along the river. There were several injuries/deaths that resulted from too much booze and poor judgment when using rope swings and jumping into the river, so they shut down all the bars and actually tore most of them down. Tubing as it was know was halted for awhile, and travel blogs warned that Vang Vieng wasn't what it used to be and probably wasn't worth a stop. I was hesitant to spend much time here, partly due to the above and partly because of recommendations/stories I had heard from other travelers while I'd been in Laos. But I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go, so I went with the intention of spending two nights and one full day there. Upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually liked it - and I found a cheap little bungalow (5 USD, private room and bathroom AND hot water shower - amazeballs) with a fantastic view of the small river, limestone cliffs and sunsets, and also sandwiches. Vang Vieng seemed like a backpacker ghost town - all the remnants of what it used to be, but with a fraction of the people. There's a couple main streets that are filled with guest houses, restaurants, bars, and tour companies and most of them were just empty. It seemed a little sad, honestly. I was happy to find and settle into a riverside restaurant that played Friends on all the tv's and had deliciously average pizza and cold Beer Lao.
Room with a view
The first full day I did the tubing. You rent a tube, put down a deposit, and they drive you a few kilometers away and drop you off by the river - then you tube. A few bars are now open along the river, the first one being close enough I could see it before I put my tube in the water (apparently all the bars were closed for a few months. If they wanted to reopen they could pay a fee - 2 million Lao kip or about $2500 USD - and reopen). I and the few people I had joined with for tubing stopped at the second bar, still not far from where we started. It had everything you could want - volleyball, basketball in a sprinkler, beer pong, cabanas, crappy American pop music, and even a pretty cool cave you could explore if you walked far enough (I was the only one that did - it was a little scary). The tubing was awesome - beautiful scenery and perfect weather, with enough people to keep it entertaining but not so many that it became annoying. I made one more stop at the 4th and last bar (although everyone says there's only 3 - it's a little wooden structure on a hill with no signs, no people, and an old Laotian woman yelling out 'beer lao' to the passing tubers), which included an amazing cave that started with a swim-in entrance and a man I befriended with my Thai skills who then generously shared with me his homemade whiskey (which was terrible, but appreciated). I watched the sunset over the mountains as I effortlessly tubed to the end and made it back just in time to get my full deposit back (the later you come back the more of your deposit they keep). I ended up staying an extra day in VV because I wasn't quite ready to leave and I had met some awesome people with whom I was really enjoying spending my time.
Tubing!
Riverside bar
Swim in cave entrance
I was amazed at how much my time as a PCV in Thailand had influenced my traveling attitude and my general outlook. I felt an internal struggle between my PCV self and my 20-something American self and found that I was much more aware of cultural nuances and views than I think I ever would have been before. I appreciated this change, despite the fact that it made me more aware of the misgivings of others and just how rude/inappropriate/insensitive people can be when traveling to countries with different attitudes and customs than their own. Laos people, like Thai people, dress more conservatively and don't wear revealing clothing in public. Everywhere I went were signs asking tourists to respect the local culture and dress and act appropriately, and everywhere I went I saw a lot of the extreme opposite.
I really, really loved the country and am already anxious for another visit as I still have things on my list that I want to see/do in Laos. And now, a few of the sandwiches.
Sandwich over Luang Prabang (this might have been the most delicious)
Sandwich on a walk next to the Mekong River
Sandwich at the waterfall
Sandwich on the street before tubing
