16: Lazy in Laos
24 June 2002
We were back in Bangkok for several weeks, so decided to split up the time with a brief trip over the border to Laos. I’d heard rave reviews from other travellers, so was looking forward to an amazing time. I’ve discovered that visiting Laos is more about a state of mind. There isn’t too much in the way of sights to see. In Vientiane, one of the smallest and least-developed of the world’s capital cities, there’s several wats (temples) to visit as well as a monstrous concrete version of the Arc de Triompe that’s unfortunately just plain ugly. I might be a bit biased in saying that most of the Thai temples are a lot more grand and magnificent… but maybe that’s partly because the Thais looted all the Laotian temples.
We spent a brief time in Vientiane before heading to the pretty city of Luang Prabang, set on the intersection of two rivers. The main site there is the city itself, with its wats and former royal palace. You just sit for hours and watch the Mekong River turn various shades of brown before settling on a brilliant purple (yes, purple!) right around sunset.
Relatively short boat rides away are a beautiful waterfall and a sacred cave with thousands of Buddha figures. The cave was pretty magnificent. We arrived past closing time, so had to squeeze our way through a small hole in the gate. It was quite eerie to be in the dark (except for the quickly failing light of our flashlight), surrounded by thousands of serene Buddha faces, most not more than a foot tall. It’s a sacred cave, so many locals leave their broken Buddhas here rather than sacrilegiously throwing them away. In addition, there are central large Buddha figures that have been there for ages.
On the return from Luang Prabang, we stopped at the small town of Vang Vieng which is Laos’ beautiful version of the Guilin/Yangshuo area of China. We didn’t linger long, having already spent some time in China, which I think has the prettier limestone formations.
So… the best part of being in Laos is that it’s a relaxing, mellow country to hang out in for as long as you need relaxation. The people are unbelievably friendly, and it was an added bonus for me that I was able to communicate using my Thai. Everyone laconically yells out “sabai dee” (“hello”) as you pass by, and nods and smiles are exchanged in plenty. We were in Laos during the World Cup, and places come to a standstill as everyone sits down to watch the matches together. All the travellers seem to be extra friendly and outgoing. The French food is also quite excellent. After several months of predominantly Asian cuisine, we made pigs of ourselves on the pastries, crepes, steak frites, etc. So maybe I can’t rave about Laos because the towns and people just remind me of the provinces of Thailand (except with less to see), but I can sure understand why people like it so much.
